The Odisha government has heaved a sigh of relief as the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a batch of petitions challenging Puri Heritage Corridor work on the ground of alleged illegal excavation and construction activities around the 12th century Shree Jagannath Temple. The court also termed the petitions as frivolous.

Expressing his happiness over the judgment, chief minister Naveen Patnaik posted the photo of Puri Shree Jagannath Temple on his Twitter account on Friday and tweeted, “Even a leaf does not move without Your wish... Jay Jagannath.”

V.K. Pandian, the private secretary to the chief minister, rushed to Puri to pay his obeisance to Lord Jagannath. The government was happy as it would be able to complete the beautification and major infrastructure development work around the temple before the nine-day Rath Yatra, scheduled to begin on July 1. Besides, the unfinished construction work near the shrine will be completed before the onset of the monsoon.

BJD’s Puri MP Pinaki Misra, who had earned the wrath of a section of people, particularly the BJP, tweeted, “The Lord has spoken through the voice of the Hon’ble Apex Court. Naveen babu stands vindicated in his earnest attempt to create world-class infrastructure to make Puri a World Heritage Site.”

Earlier, Misra had been dubbed as a liar by the BJP on the ground that he had misled Parliament saying that only four toilets would be constructed near the site. Misra said: “As I am clear in my conscience, I had not been perturbed by the Opposition. The project work is being done by the wishes of the Lord.”

The Odisha government in 2019 announced a project named “Puri Heritage Corridor Project”, to transform the holy town into an international place of heritage. The foundation for the project was laid in 2021.

Earlier social activists, as well as Opposition parties, had alleged that the work going under the Puri Heritage Corridor Project was illegal as it violated the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, which prohibits new construction of work within 100 metres from a nationally protected monument.

However, the Odisha government has repeatedly denied it has not violated any laws.

The BJP has made it an issue with its leaders visiting Puri frequently to oppose the construction work. Even Puri Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati objected to the construction work under the Puri Heritage Corridor Project, putting the state government on the back foot.

Later the issue went to the court.