The much-awaited facelift of Pahari Mandir of Ranchi will kick off from Tuesday with district authorities and the temple management zeroing in on the design of a Delhi architect.

The mandir, located 2,140ft above sea level atop Ranchi Hill on Ratu Road, will undergo a complete makeover at an estimated Rs 10 crore to be provided by the temple trust. The proposed structure, which will be modelled on a flower with the top protruding like a cone, will be spread across 24,000sqft.

The project, which will be executed under the supervision of the members of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti and also the administration, has been divided into three phases.

The first phase, which will kick off from Tuesday, will see construction of permanent living quarters for priests, caretakers looking after the temple and shopkeepers residing at the foothills.

The shelters will come up at the bottom of the hill.

The entire work is expected to take two months after which the second and third phases, which will include demolition of the existing main hall and barricading the temple arena followed by construction of library, restaurant, solar and water harvesting system and landscaping among other jobs, will be taken up.

The authorities are hoping to complete everything before the month of Shravan.

Speaking to The Telegraph about the project, Ranchi deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar, also chairman of Pahari Mandir Vikas Samiti, said: "At our executive meeting held on April 12, we decided to first rehabilitate those residing near the vicinity of the temple to avoid any kind of protest. These people have been living in and around the temple premises for over 20 years. We cannot afford to just displace them and earn their wrath."

Keeping this in mind, the administration first decided to build quarters for them on the foothills. "Tomorrow (Tuesday) being Akshaya Tritiya, which is a very auspicious occasion, we decided to start construction," he added.

While around 10 priests reside atop the hill on the temple premises, there are 15 others residing at the foothills. All welcomed the trust's efforts to spare a thought for them.

" Hum log pehele hi samiti ke sadasya ko bol ditye the, hum log ka rehane ka intezam kar dijiya tab kaam shuru ho. Hum logon ka koi apna ghar nahi hain (We had requested the members of the samiti to provide us with shelter before starting renovation work. We don't have homes of our own)," said a priest, Hari Shankar.