Bhubaneswar, Dec 7: Law Minister Pratap Jena on Tuesday said no decision has been taken on the opening of the ‘Bhitara Ratna Bhandara’ (the inner treasure chamber) of Jagannath Temple in Puri.

The Minister informed this in the Odisha Assembly.

As per the sub-section 1 of section 6 of Shree Jagannath Temple Act 1960, the inner treasure chamber can be opened only after the state government issued a special order in this regard while following certain laid out conditions, Jena said.

The Minister further informed that an experts’ team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had inspected the Ratna Bhandara in 2018 to find out whether the chamber was in need of preservation and repair.

The team had suggested that they would inspect the inner treasure chamber once again at a time when the sanctum sanctorum is devoid of deities, he added.