File photograph of Srimandir, the abode of Lord Jagannath in Odisha's pilgrim city Puri. (Image By Arrangement)

BHUBANESWAR: The 16-member committee formed on Wednesday under the chairmanship of former judge Justice Biswanath Rath will meet today to take a decision on the opening of Ratna Bhandar of Lord Jagannath’s Srimandir. Law minister Prithwiraj Harichandan said the government had formed the committee as per the High Court of Odisha directions.

“The committee will sit on July 6 to decide the modalities on how the work will progress. It will also fix a day, when there will be no deities in the temple, for the opening of Ratna Bhandar, the repair of the inner treasure trove and the beginning of the inventory of ornaments and jewels. It will also decide how the inventory will be done and what external agencies will be included for testing the quality of the ornaments,” he told reporters on Friday.

In a late evening decision on Wednesday, the BJP government constituted the committee to supervise the inventory of Ratna Bhandar, dissolving the Justice Arijit Pasayat-led panel set up by the previous BJD government in March.

The decision took everyone by surprise as it came a day ahead of Justice Pasayat-led panel’s scheduled meeting on Friday which was to be followed by inventorisation-related exercise over the next three weeks.