BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, May 27, 2007: The administrative reforms undertaken by Sri Jagannath temple administration at Puri has started yielding results with the temple generating more income during the last two years. “The corpus fund of the temple now has increased to more than US$16,750,000 from US$14,000,000 which is 4.75 percent more than the previous year’s deposit,” temple chief administrator, Suresh Chandra Mohapatra told newsmen here today. The government had introduced the reform process in the temple in 2004-2005 in view of its poor income and irregularities in performing rituals and other activities, particularly during the festivals, he said. While the expenditure of the temple in 2006-07 was US$1,970,440, its total income including sale of land amounted to US$4,187,186. Besides, the temple had collected nearly three kg of gold and seven to eight kg of silver from devotees during 2006-07 which too was added to the temple income.
Mohapatra said several steps were taken under economic revenue, income, sevayat welfare, infrastructure development, development projects and other spheres have proved beneficial for the temple. The decision to deposit the corpus fund on long term basis would certainly generate more funds for the temple, he claimed. The Chief Administrator also pointed out that introduction of online donation through ATM during 2006-07 had fetched over US$2,450,000 ffor the temple.
As part of the reform. Mohapatra said the administrtion had decided to dispose of all agricultural land owned by the temple. “We are not getting any return from this property since a majority of it is in the possession of people. The temple, on the other hand, is paying land tax,” he said. Revealing that as much as 56,000 acres of land spread across the country was in the name of the temple, Mohapatra said the shrine owned nearly 44 active stone quarries in Orisa which were being auctioned every three years. He said the administration had also decided to sell nearly 1,000 acres of land near Puri which was needed for the campus of the proposed Vedanta University.