The inventory of jewellery and other valuables stored inside the Ratna Bhandar (treasure trove) of Puri Jagannath Temple will be done in phases with the process expected to be completed before Rath Yatra next year.
The high-level committee, headed by Justice Biswanath Rath, met in Puri Saturday to deliberate on the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for inventorization. Though the exact dates are yet to be finalised, officials said the jewellery and other valuables will be tallied with the 1978 list.
After the meeting Arabinda Padhee, Chief Administrator, Jagannath Temple, said, “We have discussed various aspects of the inventory process and a draft SOP has been prepared which will be placed before the temple managing committee for further discussion. The inventory process will be taken up once the state government approves the SOP and dates.”
According to officials, inventory of the valuables used for day to day rituals of the Lords will be done in the first phase while inventory of the outer and inner chambers of the Ratna Bhandar will be taken up in the next two phases, respectively.
Padhee said it was decided that emphasis will be to ensure that rituals of the Lords and darshan of the devotees are not hampered during the inventory process.
A senior official of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and SBI-affiliated goldsmiths will be included in the inventory process. The draft SOP also has details about the officials who would be present during the inventory process, which would be videographed for future references.
The Ratna Bhandar of the 12th-century shrine was opened in July 2024 after 46 years following demands from various quarters to assess the safety of the structures and inventory of jewellery and other valuables.
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The ASI completed major structural repairs of the Ratna Bhandar in July 2025 following which the valuables, kept in temporary chambers, were shifted back to the renovated Ratna Bhandar in September.
