Veteran politician and former minister Bijoy Mahapatra, on Sunday, demanded setting up of an expert committee to inspect and suggest the work that is taking place close to the boundary wall of Puri Jagannath temple.

Addressing a media conference here, Mahapatra said the district collector read out only one portion of the permission for work towards the construction of public amenities.

The temple administration has remained silent as has the law department. All this has led to a lot of suspicion and apprehensions in the minds of people, he noted.

The permission accorded for construction work is with certain strict conditions, he said. Moreover, why should heavy machinery, powerful drilling machines be used to dig, he asked. What is the need to dig up to 15 ft within 100 meters from the boundary wall which is a prohibited area, he questioned.

The mishandling of the situation has led to doubts, he said.

No one is opposed to the heritage project and development work. But all of it should be done by taking people into confidence.

The design of the project should be made public, said Mahapatra.

The government should constitute an expert committee and ask it to submit a report within 15 days to bring about clarity and allay fears of threat to the wall and temple, he said.

It may be noted that the Puri Heritage Corridor project as an initiative is based on the recommendations of the Justice B. P. Das Commission and the plan was passed by the temple management committee headed by the Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Dev as well as the state assembly in February 2021.

The project includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for devotees which comprises public amenities and facilities for the devotees.

The apex court had also appreciated the work and asked the ASI to cooperate with the state government, claimed official sources while adding that the National Monument Authority of India had also said it had no objection to the execution of the workers in the restricted area.

The Director-General ASI had also agreed on the construction of public amenities in the prohibited area.