Supreme Court approves Banke Bihari Temple Corridor
The Supreme Court has approved the Banke Bihari Temple Corridor Project, in which the Uttar Pradesh government has been allowed to purchase 5 acres of land from the temple fund. The decision came with an amendment to the Allahabad High Court order prohibiting the purchase of land with government money.
The Banke Bihari Temple Corridor project has got the green signal from the Supreme Court. The court has allowed the Uttar Pradesh government to purchase 5 acres of land from the temple fund for this project worth Rs 500 crore. The land will be registered in the name of the temple. The decision came with an amendment to the Allahabad High Court's order prohibiting the purchase of land with government money. The court directed that in the temples of Mathura-Vrindavan, the receiver will not be an advocate, but a person who is associated with temple management, has religious inclination, knowledge of scriptures and belongs to the Vaishnava sect. The court ordered the administration and lawyers to stay away from the temple management.
Land will be purchased from temple fund, government does not have ownership rights
The court made it clear that for the construction of the corridor, the government can buy land only from the temple treasury, but this land should be registered in the name of the deity of the temple. The government cannot interfere in the management of the temple. The UP government says that it wants to build the corridor only for the convenience of the devotees, it does not want any right over the temple.
Rs 500 crore spent for the corridor
The corridor will cost Rs 500 crore, including land acquisition and compensation to affected shopkeepers and residents. There is about Rs 450 crore in the treasury of Banke Bihari Temple, from which this cost will be removed. In 2022, 2 devotees died due to suffocation due to a huge crowd at the Mangala Aarti during Sri Krishna Janmashtami. After this, the inquiry committee had recommended the construction of a corridor for crowd management in the temple.
The issue of construction of the corridor arose after the death of devotees
In 2022, 2 devotees died due to suffocation due to a huge crowd at the Mangala Aarti during Sri Krishna Janmashtami. After this, the inquiry committee had recommended the construction of a corridor for crowd management in the temple. Shops have encroached on the roads leading to the temple, causing inconvenience to devotees. Brajwasis are opposing the corridor due to congestion and disorder. The government argues that the corridor will facilitate devotees and prevent accidents.