Bhubaneswar: The process to open Ratna Bhandar (treasury) of Jagannath temple in Puri is to begin tomorrow, informed Odisha Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan here today.

Briefing mediapersons, the Law Minister said: "The Chief Minister has approved the opening of Ratna Bhandar for an inventory preparation and valuation of assets. Every aspect concerning the task has meticulously been taken into account giving utmost importance to match the rituals of the Lords. A high-power committee has very neatly prepared the SOP."

Accordingly, a representative of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will assist the empowered Committee in carrying out the task. SJTA Chief Administrator has been entrusted with the task of smoothly conducting the inventory preparation and asset evaluation.

A representative of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will also assist the Committee.

The number of valuables of the Lords, their quality and weight etc will be digitally recorded and photographed. A digital document will also be prepared for future reference.

The entire task will be carried out in a transparent and very careful manner, the Minister said.

Law Minister Harichandan informed that sub-committees have been formed and they will carry out their work as per their defined role.

The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration(SJTA) was given the standard operating procedure (SOP) on the opening of Ratna Bhandar of the shrine.

"We have received the list of SOPs on opening of the Ratna Bhandar from the State government. We will hold consultative meetings with concerned members regarding this," SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Kumar Padhee stated.

When contacted, former judge of Orissa High Court Justice Biswanath Rath stated, "Keys of the Ratna Bhandar have not been used for the last many years. If required, the treasury locks will be broken. A lock-breaking group has been requisitioned. Snake catchers and a medical team will also be kept on standby."

"Most likely, Ratna Bhandar will be opened after 1.00 PM, keeping in mind the auspicious timing," Justice Rath added.

Worth mentioning, the report of Justice Raghubir Das Commission of Enquiry on the 'missing keys' of Ratna Bhandar along with reports of other Commissions will be made public at a later date. Actions will also be taken against the erring person(s) based on the reports, the Law Minister asserted.

A 16-member committee headed by Justice Rath as Chairman will carry out the task of inventory preparation and asset evaluation. The others are Dr. CBK. Mohanty (Member), chartered accountant Rajib Sahu (Member), retired bureaucrat Jagdish Mohanty (Member), former IPS officer Prakash Mishra (Member), Swami Pragyananda Ji (Member), Harihar Hota (Member), Padmashree Sudarsan Pattanaik (Member), representative of Gajapati Maharaj (Member), representative of ASI (Member), Madhu Sudan Singhari (Member), Janardan Pattajoshi Mohapatra (Member), Jagannath Das Mohapatra (Member), Soumendra Muduli (Member), Puri Collector (Member), and SJTA Chief Administrator (Member Convenor).