The Naveen Patnaik government on Thursday constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of a former Supreme Court judge to supervise the inventory of the jewellery stored in the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri’s Jagannath Temple.

The government constituted the committee on the directions of the Orissa High Court to look into the issue of inventory. The committee, under the chairmanship of Justice Arijit Pasayat, comprises 12 members like renowned cardiologist Dr Ramakanata Panda. Dr Panda will be the vice-chairperson of the committee that will supervise the process of making the inventory.

The other members of the committee are former Chairman-Cum-Managing Director (CMD), Allahabad Bank, Bidhubhusan Samal, noted chartered accountant A.K. Sabat, a representative of Puri King Gajapati Dibyasingha Deb, a representative of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), senior servitors — Durga Das Mohapatra, Madhav Chandra Mohapatra, Jagannath Kar and Ganesh Mekap, Puri collector and chief administrator of Puri Shree Jagannath Temple Administration.

The committee is scheduled to hold its first meeting at Puri on March 9, officials said.

The Ratna Bhandar comprises mainly two chambers (inner and outer) and it stores the jewels and ornaments that the three deities are adorned with. In the outer chamber, ornaments are kept for the daily use of the deities.

The inner chamber of the Ratna Bhandar has not been opened since 1978.

The outer chamber was opened in 2018.