Puri Ratna Bhandar inventory SOP nears final stage; Ganati-Manati to begin soon

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for inventory and assessment of valuables inside Ratna Bhandar (divine treasure trove) of Jagannath Temple in Puri is in its final stage, Odisha Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan informed on Sunday.

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Speaking on the matter, Law Minister Harichandan said the issue was discussed during a high-level committee meeting held recently. The empowered committee is preparing to submit a comprehensive SOP to the State government for approval.

Once the SOP is formally cleared, the process of Ganati-Manati (counting and verification) of valuables stored in the Ratna Bhandar will begin.

The Law Minister added that the government is making all necessary efforts to complete the required formalities so that the long-pending inventory exercise can be initiated without delay. According to him, every essential step will be completed systematically before the counting process starts.

Minister Harichandan further said that the high-level committee has indicated its intention to complete the Ratna Bhandar inventory much before the upcoming Rath Yatra, underscoring the urgency and importance of the task.

“Preparation of the SOP is almost in the final stage. A discussion in this regard (on Ganati-Manati) was carried out yesterday in the high-level committee. After an SOP is submitted to the Government and after it gets the government approval, this will pave the way for initiation of inventory and valuation of ornaments,” the Law Minister said.

Worth mentioning, inventory and valuation (Ganati-Manati) of the Lords’ ornaments will likely be carried out soon and be completed before Rath Yatra, Ratna Bhandar Monitoring Committee Chairman Justice Biswanath Rath had informed on September 24.

With the physical transfer of valuables now complete, only the counting and documentation process remains. This next phase is crucial to ensure that each piece of jewellery, many of which are of immense historical and religious significance, is properly catalogued and verified.

Justice Biswanath Rath had confirmed that preparations are underway for this sensitive task. “We are following a strict procedural framework to carry out the counting in a secure and transparent manner,” he had stated.