Dehradun: Uttarakhand government today ordered immediate payment of compensation to Kedarnath teerth purohits who had to give their land for reconstruction work around the Himalayan shrine as per Kedarnath masterplan.
Chairing a meeting to review implementation of Kedarnath masterplan here, Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma said an amount of Rs 18 crore is to to be paid to the teerth purohits according to an agreement with them out of which Rs 10 crore has already been paid to them and asked Rudraprayag District Magistrate Raghav Langer to pay the remaining Rs 8 crore to them immediately out of the Chief Minister's Discretionary Fund.
The teerth purohits being compensated are those who gave their land for construction of a 50 feet wide approach path to the temple (300 meter long starting from the bailey bridge over saraswati river upto the temple) and to obtain 30 feet clear land on both sides of an already 70 feet wide temple platform.
These constructions are part of the Kedarnath masterplan which was prepared in consultation with experts for scientific construction around the temple after areas close to it bore the brunt of the 2013 flashfloods.
Sharma also asked DM Rudraparayag to identify structures near the temple which need to be acquired for further reconstruction work in the area and send a proposal to the state government spelling out its liabilities so that compensations could be paid.
Kedarnath teerth purohits who own most of the property near the temple are the major stakeholders with government in its reconstruction and rehabilitation endeavours in the area.
