The Maa Sarala Temple located in Kanakpur, within the Tirtol block, is considered one of the significant Shakti shrines in Odisha, with origins tracing back to the 16th century.
In Cuttack, the Orissa High Court has requested the state government and the endowment commissioner to respond to a petition that claims six shop holders at the Maa Sarala Temple in Jagatsinghpur district have failed to pay more than Rs 1 crore in auction dues.
A division bench comprising Justices SK Panigrahi and MS Raman heard the petition, which was filed by Ambika Mohanty and two others on September 17. The court has directed the state government and the endowment commissioner to submit their responses prior to the next hearing date.
The petitioners are advocating for a joint investigation by the commissioner of endowment in Odisha and the assistant commissioner of endowment in Cuttack regarding the alleged non-payment of auction dues. They have also requested that appropriate measures be taken to recover the outstanding amounts from the six shop holders.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for October 7. The petitioners are pushing for a thorough inquiry into the dues related to bhog and lamp shops that were auctioned for the years 2019-20, 2023-24, and 2024-25.
The bench ordered, “Issue notice to the state government and the commissioner of endowment, directing them to respond before the next listing of this matter.”
The petition details that the executive officer of Maa Sarala Temple had auctioned off shops for bhog and lamp sales within the temple grounds for three years. Although the six highest bidders were granted these shops, they allegedly failed to make the required payments.
According to the petitioners, the total dues from these auction holders exceed Rs 1 crore and remain uncollected. The plea outlines specific defaults, indicating that one auction holder owes Rs 35 lakh, while another has outstanding dues of Rs 23.60 lakh. Two other holders have reportedly defaulted on payments of Rs 20.99 lakh and Rs 19.42 lakh respectively.
