Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Puri Srimandir reforms case hearing was postponed by the Supreme Court on Monday for a further seven days. The following hearing has been set for Monday, May 8, 2023. According to sources, the Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) provided an affidavit on Monday (May 1), and the Amicus Curiae requested seven days from the court to review it.
Notably, on November 4, 2019, the SC issued an interim ruling on Srimandir reforms and directed the SJTA to name a permanent administrator of the temple managing committee while hearing a petition submitted by Mrinalini Padhi, a lawyer from Cuttack. A bench presided over by Justice Arun Mishra had given at least 25 orders, some of which included building a facility to house 60,000 pilgrims, a garbage disposal facility in Puri, and schools and institutions to promote Jagannath culture.
Aadarsh Gurukul for the servitors will be built on property that has been identified, according to Puri Sub-Collector Bhabataran Sahu, although Dharmasala construction has already started on a 10-acre plot of land next to Baseli Sahi Police Station. On the other hand, Ranjan Kumar Das was appointed as the SJTA’s Chief Administrator by the Odisha government. He took over for Vir Vikram Yadav. The position of Chief Administrator at SJTA has been recognized as similar in status and responsibilities to the position of Special Secretary offered in the State’s IAS cadre with the appointment of Das.
