A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism & Culture led by its Chairman TG Venkatesh praised the Heritage Corridor construction work in Puri during an assessment visit to the temple town amid outrageous hue and cry by political opponents and detractors. Strangely, Aparajita Sarangi did not volunteer to accompany them despite being the MP from Bhubaneswar, who is remembered as a pioneering ‘city beautifier’ during her tenure as the Bhubaneswar Municipal Commissioner. She was a household name for being a courageous administrator who may have overstepped jurisdiction as is enshrined in the prevailing rulebook. This particular trait in her has brought her to the enviable position she is enjoying today. People had blindly stood by all her administrative actions.
The Shreemandir Heritage Corridor is of course on an entirely different category. What is not once being highlighted by any supporter or critic is the fact that 95% of Odisha people support the corridor project. Further, the majority of the core, frontline servitors, too are keen to see a beautified temple surrounding that would for sure attract huge numbers of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. Madam Aparajita has been a no-nonsense bureaucrat for truly having been an ‘out-of-the-box’ thinker-planner-doer. But after being gifted with a Parliamentary seat from the most respectable constituency, she has degenerated into a populist politician, so it seems. Just to gain a little political mileage, she has chosen to be part of the critics’ bandwagon. That is pretty much disheartening. The people of Odisha have virtually begun basking in glory of the beautified Puri temple surrounding. The corridor would make it simply world-class or a shade better in looks with just the facilities that keep people cool and comfortable while orbiting the uniquely magnificent temple.
The 16-member parliamentary committee led by BJP MP TG Venkatesh, incidentally had six technical experts, including AlokTripathi, Additional Director General of Archaeological Survey of India. So, the team was most certainly not brainless or clueless about critical issues at all. They knew their job too well. The team was also not politically lopsided as most parties had sent representatives. BJP MP RamdasChandrabhanjiTadas, a committee member, said the corridor project was critically essential and needed to be in place fast to make the temple become even more popular. More development is needed; both Centre and State Government should work in tandem to expedite development, Tadas had said insistently.
A couple of years ago, the Union Government reviewed the policy which regulated construction around Centrally-protected monuments to classify them specifically basing on their historical significances. According to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, there is a ban on construction within 100 metres of a Centrally-protected monument and regulated construction within 100-200 metres. Over the years, only due to this law, several important development project works around these areas had to be stalled. So, the Government moved an amendment to the law in the Parliament for removal of such restrictions, some of which were plain silly.
What is not clearly known to the common folks is that the ASI has no statutory enforcement rights. It is expected only to discover, maintain heritage sites and recommend what should not happen near them or above in the skies. It is further duty-bound to keep beautifying monuments across the country and accord importance of exclusivity depending on the popularity, size and age of the monument. For instance, the Taj Mahal is categorised in the highest-grade category around which a 500-metre buffer zone has to be maintained where no construction can ever take place. The National Monuments Authority (NMA) is the actual master with enforcement rights. No construction work within the restricted zone can happen without its permission. Most people imagine the ASI to be the supreme body in heritage matters rather than the NMA.
What is also not known to many is a very amusing fact: there is provision for special acquisition of heritage space in case of extreme necessity due to lack of land to be used for critical public facilities, the same way the authorities acquire reserve forestland and reclaim the sea to accommodate projects of huge human benefit. For that, the NMA is appealed to for grant of permission. The NMA is a specifically technical body wherein the ASI Director General is only an ex-officio member. These are some common sense knowledge that every critic of the Puri heritage project need to acquire. Or else, their outrageous ranting would only be without substance. It is a good thing to go by the rulebook, but the riders in the rulebook be known to all. Lately, peculiar ‘save the temple crusaders’ have mushroomed all over Odisha with blank-headed journalists screaming on the television or writing any crap just to prove the Government is wrong, little realising that all that’s being done is to make life of the pilgrims-tourists easy and the visit to the temple joyous and memorable.
Whatever be, the BJD administration headed by Naveen Patnaik is determined to make Puri the face of Odisha and the most enjoyable town in India for the majestic temple and the magnificent coastline. The cult of Lord Jagannath has spread far and wide beyond the boundaries of the country. But unless facilities are fittingly kept in place, tourists would neither come nor recommend to friends and acquaintances. The age-old pride of India, Puri once revered by Nanak, the preacher, and Ranjit Singh, the monarch, would degenerate into a least-preferred pilgrimage-tourist destination for being disorderly and dirty. What was built centuries ago was to cater to thousands of people riding horse or bullock-drawn carriages. In the modern times when the most orthodox wear western dress and eat continental cuisine, the towns and cities need to have wider roads and facilities with latest gadgetry.
Lastly, whether or not the temple structure is in danger of crumbling, the experts placed in the national bodies are no brighter than the local geniuses. All are soundly aware of what what’s right and what’s wrong. The State Government couldn’t have gone this far without having consulted the best of brains, including those from the ASI and the NMA.