Puri Jagannath Temple holds Rs 1,911.80 crore in bank deposits and 60,821 acres of land

Puri Jagannath Temple has bank deposits of around Rs 1,911.80 crore and owns 60,821 acres of land across India, according to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration. The temple also holds gold, diamond and other valuables in its Ratna Bhandar. An inventory count is currently underway after 48 years.

The Jagannath Temple in Puri has bank deposits of about Rs 1,911.80 crore and owns 60,821 acres of land across India, according to a statement issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA). The temple also holds gold, diamond and other valuables in its Ratna Bhandar, where an inventory is currently underway after 48 years, a TOI report stated.

As of August 31, the temple had Rs 1,811.10 crore in fixed deposits under three schemes, the SJTA said. Of this amount, Rs 1,311.10 crore was deposited with various public sector banks. Another Rs 500 crore is a corpus fund provided by the Odisha government and kept in the temple's profit and loss account. The temple also had Rs 100.71 crore in savings, current and flexi accounts. This took its total bank deposits to around Rs 1,911.80 crore.

The SJTA said the temple receives income from several sources. These include donations from devotees, earnings from temple-owned quarries and mines, interest earned on fixed deposits, sale and acquisition of land, and government grants.

"Some specific part of the income is kept in fixed deposits as Corpus Fund and another part is kept in fixed deposits as Foundation Fund. The remaining income is kept in the temple fund," SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said in the statement on Wednesday.

The temple uses its temple fund to meet daily expenses. The remaining amount is kept in fixed deposits, Padhee said.

He added that the administration's primary responsibility was to maintain all the temple's assets properly.

The temple counts donations received through its Hundi every day. The details are displayed on information boards and also published on social media, the administration said. The SJTA also launched a digital donation platform called "Samarpan" shortly before this year's Rath Yatra on July 15. The platform allows devotees from across the world to make donations and receive receipts. As of August 31, devotees had contributed Rs 56.71 lakh through the digital platform.

The Jagannath Temple owns 60,821 acres of land across the country, according to the SJTA. Of the total landholding, 60,426 acres are located across 24 districts of Odisha. The remaining 395 acres are spread across six other states, including West Bengal.

The temple's gold, diamond and other valuables are kept in the Ratna Bhandar under tight security. Officials are currently carrying out an inventory of the valuables. The exercise is taking place after a gap of 48 years.

Police said at least seven incidents involving the theft of cash, ornaments and idols had been reported at the temple over the past 25 years. In February 2024, a temple clerk was allegedly caught on CCTV stealing Rs 31,940 while donation money was being counted. A year earlier, a temple peon was arrested for allegedly stealing Rs 800 during the counting process.

The 12th-century Jagannath Temple is governed by the Odisha government's Law Department under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955.