Jagannath temple row: SC slams Odisha govt over demolition of Emar Matt

The apex court has slammed the state government for its order to demolish the historic Emar Mutt near Sri Jagannath Temple.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed Odisha government for its order to demolish the Emar Mutt, a 900- year-old boundary wall structured around the Jagannath Temple of Odisha.

The demolition of Emar Mutt was halted last month after its mahant Rajgopal Ramanuj Das refused to come out of the half-demolished structure protesting the government move of clearing the area around the 75metre perimeter of the Jagannath Temple.

The old structures around the Jagannath Temple are being razed since August 27 after a committee headed by a retired judge of Orissa High Court BP Das recommended the removal of such buildings early this year.

The demolition of the Mutt, being undertaken by the administration as part of the plan to clear structures within a 75-metre radius of the 12th-century shrine on security grounds and to transform the pilgrim city into an international heritage destination, is almost complete.

To jog your memory, the Mutt had its share of controversy when in 2011, police chanced upon a secret room in its complex and recovered 522 pieces of silver ingots weighing over 18 tonne and worth Rs 100 crore.