Puri: Following hue & cry and Orissa High Court’s order, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is likely to inspect the Jagannath temple Heritage Corridor Project here on Sunday.
As the High Court has directed the ASI to submit its affidavit before the court by May 7, the ASI will conduct the inspection along with officials from Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) and Tata Projects. Accordingly, it will submit its affidavit before the HC, sources said on Saturday.
According to the sources, the ASI will inspect the construction activities undertaken around the temple. The depth and height of the under-constructed project will be observed and subsequently recorded.
Notably, till now ASI has remained silent over the issue, which created a spark in State politics. Though the District Administration has informed that it has approval from the ASI for the project, the Central agency remained silent on this. Due to its silence, the project has been dragged into controversy.
In a recent RTI reply, the ASI has said that it has not provided any kind of NOC to the Odisha Government for the mega heritage project.
The High Court had directed the Archaeological Survey of India to undertake a joint visit along with officials of the State Government to the site and file its affidavit at least two days before May 9. Now, all eyes are on the judgment of the HC.