Yes Bank Crisis: Odisha FM Urges Sitharaman to Direct RBI to Release Lord Jagannath’s Funds

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Finance Minister Niranjan Pujari today requested to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to issue necessary instruction to the Reserve Bank of India to allow release of Rs. 545 crore deposited by Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Puri in the crisis-ridden Yes Bank in the interest of millions of devotees of Lord Jagannath.

In a letter to the Union Finance Minister, the Odisha FM said “Puri is famous worldwide for temple of Lord Shree Jagannath. The temple is an important destination for Hindu pilgrims and is considered as one of the most sacred place of Hindus.”

The administration, governance and management of the temple and its properties are vested in a committee called Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (MC) by virtue of provisions contained in the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1954, he added.

On the basis of discussion of Managing Committee, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration manages day to day affairs of shrine, the letter said.

Various funds related to temple i.e. Foundation Fund, Corpus Fund and Temple Fund are being managed by Managing Committee. Out of these funds, an amount of Rs. 545 Crores have been deposited with Yes Bank, Puri in shape of TORs, the Odisha Minister stated.

These deposits are maturing in the month of March of 2020 itself. In the meantime, Yes Bank Ltd has been placed under Moratorium by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and certain restrictions have been imposed by RBI for withdrawal of funds from Yes Bank.

“It is pertinent to mention that Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) is a statutory authority working under provisions of an Act of state Government. This is an issue of religious importance for devotees of Lord Jagannath”, the letter reads.