Banke Bihari Corridor: Mathura admin draws up rehab scheme
: Amid the Goswamis' vocal opposition to the Banke Bihari Corridor plan, the Mathura district administration has come up with a scheme to rehabilitate the sevayats or servitors (the Goswami community members engaged in prayers and priestly duties) at the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan. The plan envisages accommodating the sevayats at Rukmani Vihar in Vrindavan.
The Uttar Pradesh government's decision to form a trust to manage the Banke Bihari Temple and oversee the construction of the corridor has met with strong opposition from the Goswami community, the hereditary priests who have managed the temple for centuries.
They view this as a government 'takeover' attempt, eroding their traditional authority and control over the temple's affairs.
In the context of Hindu temples, sevayats are individuals or families who are responsible for performing various ritual services and duties related to the deity and the temple. Their position is hereditary.
The Supreme Court has given the go-ahead for the Banke Bihari Corridor, an ambitious plan to ease crowd congestion and enhance the pilgrimage experience around the shrine.
The state government has brought an ordinance to create a Trust to run the temple and oversee work of the proposed corridor.
After the recent visit of Awanish Kumar Awasthi, the special advisor to chief minister, to Vrindavan on June 6, the work for the proposed Banke Bihari Corridor has gathered pace.
The Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority has selected land in Rukmani Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar for a residential scheme to rehabilitate 275 families to be affected by the Banke Bihari corridor, Mathura district magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh said on Wednesday.
'The work for the proposed Banke Bihari Corridor to enhance facilities for lakhs of devotees coming to the Banke Bihari Temple is attaining pace. Physical verification is being conducted for land measuring 5.5 acres required for the proposed corridor. Alongside this, we have drafted schemes to rehabilitate those to be affected by the corridor,' the Mathura DM said.
'The district administration will offer to settle the land owners affected by the corridor at Rukmani Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar in Vrindavan. The land has been selected and flats will be brought up in a residential scheme. The work is to be undertaken by Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority,' Singh said.
'The 275 land owners to be affected by acquisition of land for Banke Behari corridor include 200 shopkeepers. These shop owners will be allocated shops within the Banke Bihari corridor and compensation will be provided on the basis of land and shops being affected. Those affected by the corridor will be provided the option to settle in a common region for which a residential scheme has been worked out,' Chandra Prakash Singh said.
Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority vice chairman Shyam Bahadur Singh said, 'We plan to construct 325 to 350 flats, both 1 BHK and 2 BHK, on four big plots at Rukmani Vihar Residential Scheme. If required, the number of flats will be increased by marking out adjoining land. Further, land measuring 3.5 acres has been selected at Sunrakh Bangar in Vrindavan.'
'Plots measuring 3924.91 square metres, 2844 square metres, 1800 square metres and 1504 square metres have been selected in Rukmani Vihar where 325 to 350 flats are to be developed under Group Housing Scheme having 1 BHK and 2 BHK flats,' he said.
'A design has been planned for flats to be constructed for affected families because of the corridor. Houses in Rukmani Vihar are on top priority,' said Arvind Kumar Dwivedi, secretary of MVDA.
When asked about the proposal, Rajat Goswami, the former vice-president of the erstwhile managing committee at the Banke Bihari Temple (defunct after a court order), stated that the district administration has not communicated any such rehabilitation plan to them and they are not in position to react as of now.
'The district administration is in conversation with us on various aspects, but has not communicated any such plan in writing to us. The stakeholders should be taken into confidence before making such plans public,' Rajat Goswami said.
Earlier, seeking a consensus on the proposed Banke Bihari Corridor project, Awasthi held meetings with local residents, traders and Goswamis (priests) in Vrindavan on June 6.
On May 15, the Supreme Court paved the way for a state government scheme to develop the Banke Bihari Corridor for the benefit of devotees. The apex court also allowed the state government to use temple funds to purchase five-acre land for the corridor.
The state government on May 27 constituted a Trust to manage the Banke Bihari temple and oversee the work of the proposed corridor.
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