Bhubaneswar: Over 60,426 acre land has been earmarked in the name of Lord Jagannath in 24 districts  of which record of rights for over 38.061 acre has been procured by the Sri mandir temple administration, informed Odisha Law Minister Jagannath Saraka today. Responding to a query by Salipur MLA Prasanta Behera during the Assembly Session, Saraka said as per data available,  60,426. 943 acre  land has been identified in the name of Lord Jagannath in 24 districts of the State out of which there is record of rights for 38,061. 892 acre.

Similarly, 395.252 acre land is in the name of Lord Jagannath in six states outside Odisha. Dismissing any illegal sale of land, Saraka said all transactions by the temple administration or monasteries having custody of the land in the name of the Lord, have been done in accordance with the State government's uniform policy at consessional rates.

Regarding encroachment, Saraka said 974 patches of land have been identified by the Shree Jagannatha Temple Administration (SJTA) and cases have been filed under Section 16A (1) of Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 under supervision of respective tehsildars.