NEW DELHI:The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the ongoing construction at Puri’s Jagannath Mandir and dismissed two petitions challenging the work with a cost of ₹1 lakh to be paid to the Odisha government.
A bench of justices BR Gavai and Hima Kohli said, “The activities undertaken by the state are completely in tune with the orders passed by the Supreme Court in Mrinalini Padhi matter (where Court is monitoring preservation and protection of Puri temple) and the petitions are without merit.”
The petitioners had objected to the excavation and construction work being undertaken by the state government as part of the Sri Mandir Parikrama Project (SMPP) meant to be a heritage corridor project undertaken by the state government at a cost of over ₹800 crore for developing the temple city as a world heritage site.