Bhubaneswar: The state government has formed a 16-member committee for opening Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath temple at Odisha’s Puri town and inventory of its valuables.

The 16-member committee will be headed by former judge of Orissa High Court Justice Biswanath Rath.

This was revealed by Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan today.

“The state government has decided to open Ratna Bhandar of Jagannath temple and carry out inventory of the ornaments and other precious items stored in it. A 16-member committee has been formed for this purpose,” said the Law Minister.

The committee is scheduled to meet at the office of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) at Puri on July 6 and take decision regarding the procedure for inventory of the temple treasury, he added.

Earlier, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi had announced that the state government would soon open the temple treasury and carry our inventory of its valuables.

The 12-member high-level committee, formed by the previous government to carry out the inventory of Ratna Bhandar, has been dissolved, said the Law Department in a statement.

Notably, Justice Rath, the son of senior advocate Bipini Bihari Rath, had worked as a judge in Orissa High Court from 2014 to 2023. Prior to his elevation as a judge, he had represented the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee as a lawyer.

Members of the newly formed committee:

  1. Justice Biswanath Rath …..Chairman
  2. Dr. C.B.K. Mohanty …..Member
  3. CA Rajib Sahu …..Member
  4. Jagdish Mohanty, Retd. IAS …..Member
  5. Prakash Mishra, Retd. IPS …..Member
  6. Swami Pragyananda Ji …..Member
  7. Harihar Hota …..Member
  8. Padmashree Sudarsan Pattanaik …..Member
  9. Representative of Gajapati Maharaj …..Member
  10. Representative of A.S.I …..Member
  11. Madhu Sudan Singhari …..Member
  12. Janardan Pattajoshi Mohapatra …..Member
  13. Jagannath Das Mohapatra …..Member
  14. Soumendra Muduli …..Member
  15. Collector, Puri …..Member
  16. Chief Administrator, SJTA …..Member Convenor