Bhubaneswar, February 25: The Ratna Bhandar inventory and appraisal will begin in the first week of March, said Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan on Wednesday.
“We are planning to begin the counting process by the first week of March. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration and Temple Managing Committee have been entrusted with the responsibility to discuss with the Chhatisha Nijog to finalise the schedule to carry out the inventory keeping the ritual timings in mind. Accordingly, a formal annulment of the schedule will be made,” said Harichandan.
As per the process followed in the 12th century shrine, the list of suitable dates will be submitted to the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee. The Managing Committee, after consulting experts and considering auspicious timings, will finalise the exact date and time to begin the process.
Meanwhile, the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) have been formed two separate committees - Supervisory Committee and Handling Committee - to oversee and execute the inventory and appraisal of the Ratna Bhandar after the State Government approved a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlining the process for the inventory and valuation of the temple treasury.
The Supervisory Committee will oversee and monitor the entire exercise while the Handling Committee is mandated to carry out the physical inventory and appraisal of the Ratna Bhandar.
The Odisha Government has approved a comprehensive 14-page SOP detailing the methodology for inventory, documentation, security measures, and valuation.
The inventory and appraisal exercise will be conducted for proper documentation, transparency, and security of the temple treasury. The process will also facilitate comparison and tallying with the list of the inventory, conducted in 1978.
