The Orissa High Court directed the Archaeological Survey of India To submit a report about the ongoing construction around the 12th Century Jagannath Temple and the report is a shocker. The ASI informed the High Court that there was every possibility of damage caused to the archaeological remains due to the excavation and construction work at the site.
The Regional Director of ASI (East) in a joint inspection report mentioned, “During the Joint inspection followed by onsite discussions with officials of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), District Magistrate, Puri and Odisha Bridge Construction Corporation (OBCC), It is found that the ongoing construction work of the Shree Mandira Parikrama Project has no valid permission or no objection certificate issued by the competent authority.”
The report added, “There is every possibility that the agency OBCC during the excavation or soil removal might have destroyed the archaeological remains of the heritage site.”
However, there are questions raised about why the Archaeological Survey of India that is under the Ministry of Culture had remained tight lipped about the state agency doing construction work until a PIL was filed.
The Naveen Pattnaik government has been receiving severe backlash for undertaking construction without seeking permission from the Archaeological Survey of India which is mandatory under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958.