Hot seat - Arvind Padhee,

IAS, chief administrator of Jagannath temple, revenue divisional commissioner (central)

Pranab Mukherjee will visit the Jagannath temple in Puri on April 25 for the first time as President. What arrangements have been made and will temple rituals be put off till he leaves?

His scheduled time of visit is from 1pm to 1.45pm. It is a full moon day (purnima) and certain rituals have to be completed within a fixed time. We are co-ordinating with the servitors concerned so that rituals are performed on time. There will be restrictions on the entry of common people to the temple because of security reasons. We will follow a pass system for the servitors so that rituals are not affected.

Aren’t you planning to offer him a palm leaf canopy because of the heat?

Yes, a white umbrella is given to VVIPs as per protocol. However, the Jagannath temple has certain traditional restrictions. So we will provide a palm leaf umbrella to him till the Singha Dwaar (main gate of the temple) and the 22 steps, if he so desires. The pathway to the sanctum sanctorum and exit points has also been painted with lime so that it doesn’t get too hot.

Is there any competition among servitors to perform the puja for the President or has a particular priest been given that responsibility?

Two separate sets of servitors have claimed to be the traditional priests of his family. There is Madhusudan Pujapanda and his brothers on the one hand, and Manmohan Gochhikar and his brother on the other. There is a third servitor who has shown me some photographic evidence to substantiate his claims. We will wait for specific instructions from the President’s secretariat in this regard. If we don’t get any communiqué, we will give a nod to all the three sets of servitors to ensure a smooth puja.

You have started demolition of the three-storey building of Pratihari Nijog, the priests’ organisation’s office, which was partially covering the entrance to the Jagannath temple. Aren’t you facing resistance from the local residents?

There is stiff resistance. The entrance was encroached upon. As the temple chief administrator, I have been ruthless with the mafia and land grabbers. A lot of land belonging to Lord Jagannath have been encroached upon by influential people. I wouldn’t call it a scam because we are yet to establish any links. But I find there is collusion between people with vested interests. Many people have recorded temple land in their names through manipulation and forged documents. We have discovered a lot of such land in Bhubaneswar, Khurda and Jatni.

How are you planning to retrieve the land?

There are 26,711 acres recorded in Lord Jagannath’s name, but we are told we have at least 56,000 acres. So, we are taking serious steps to retrieve the property. We also want to sell land that is difficult to manage. Once we get formal approval from the temple managing committee and the government, we will sell land on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar with the help of the Bhubaneswar Development Authority. My conservative estimates are that we could generate about Rs 500 crore within a year or two. Common people will be able to buy the land and it will be litigation-free.

Orissa High Court, while passing its order for demolition of Pratihari Nijog, observed that the architecture on the temple walls had been concealed by the structure. Are you taking help of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for restoration work?

Few pieces of stones have been destroyed and we can replace them with the ASI’s help. In fact, we have already written to the ASI in New Delhi for a separate unit in Puri. Right now, the ASI here is headed by only a conservation assistant while their remaining employees stay in Bhubaneswar.

Are you satisfied with the quality of the ASI’s work?

I don’t want to pass any judgement but we will be very happy if they take up rest of the work sincerely. We have prepared a status report on the main shrine and subsidiary temples on the 10.7 acres according to which we can undertake repair, restoration and conservation work. For example, the glass portion of the temple Jagmohan is very weak. We will approach the ASI with the report for proper upkeep.

Earlier, parts of the wooden chariots were used as fuel in the Puri temple kitchen after rath yatra got over. However, the temple administration recently announced that the chariot parts would be auctioned. Won’t this affect the temple’s firewood requirements?

As of now, there is no shortage. We took a sensitive decision not to use chariot parts as fuel. The chariots have firewood worth Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. I proposed to the managing committee to sell it off to the devotees. One chariot wheel alone has been quoted at Rs 5 lakh.

But how will you meet the firewood requirements in case there is a shortage?

We have introduced a Jagannath Bana Prakalpa (forest project) in districts such as Nayagarh with specific wood species, so that we can have a sustainable supply of such wood. By discussing with appropriate religious bodies, we can also explore other efficient options that can reduce our fuel use inside the temple.

What is the annual revenue of the temple?

This year, we have surpassed the Rs 200-crore mark, Rs 30 crore more than last year. As of now, we are not facing any problems in conducting daily rituals. But, the temple is worth much more. We are trying to retrieve all the temple land scattered across the country. Our sources of income are rents of landed property, sale of land and donation box inside the temple. Now, we have also started an online donation system.

How are preparations coming along for Nabakalebar scheduled for 2015?

The Bhubaneswar-Puri road is being double-laned and the supporting infrastructure is being developed. We are making making arrangements for lakhs of devotees. We expect 2.5 million devotees to congregate on a single day and Puri is quite cramped. We are clearing encroachments and looking after sanitation. I, along with the Puri SP and officer in-charge of Nabakalebar, visited the Kumbh Mela to study their arrangements and want to replicate their model, especially on waste disposal and bio-toilets. We have sent a project report to the Centre for special allocation of funds. Servitors are also making arrangements.