The Odisha Cabinet on Monday approved new rules to bring the management and settlement of land belonging to the 12th-century Jagannath Temple under a digital and more tightly monitored system, with safeguards to prevent encroachment and fraudulent claims.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Land Management Rules, 2026, framed under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955, would replace the Uniform Policy, 2003, and its amended version of 2019 and establish greater transparency and accountability in the management of temple land, officials said.
The state government has identified 60,426.943 acres of land belonging to the Jagannath temple in and outside Odisha. Of this, 395.252 acres of land is located in states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
Under the new rules, applications for settlement of Shri Jagannath Temple land will be verified and disposed of through an online portal. A District Level Land Sub-Committee headed by the district collector will conduct field verification and scrutinise applications.
The rules provide for oversight by the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, which will issue no-objection certificates for all settlements. The government has prescribed valuation norms based on the Benchmark Value (BMV) or Average Land Sale Statistics (ALSS), whichever is higher. The norms will apply to different categories of beneficiaries, including temple servitors, non-servitors and others.
For eligible settlements, land up to 0.250 decimal will be valued at the higher of the BMV or ALSS. Special concessions have been provided for bijesthali of mathas with continuous seva puja for over three years.
The rules envisage a GIS-based digital mapping and inventory of all land. The information will be maintained through a publicly accessible digital dashboard on the portal, allowing the authorities to monitor temple land, detect unauthorised occupation and encroachment, and track litigation involving temple properties.
The portal will be integrated with the existing platforms of the revenue and disaster management department to facilitate real-time updating of land records. The new framework includes provisions to cancel settlements obtained through fraud, misrepresentation, or fabricated documents. Those responsible could also face civil and criminal proceedings.
An appeal committee headed by the principal secretary of law has been constituted to hear appeals filed by aggrieved parties.
