Varkala municipality stops Rs 25-crore project at Janardhana Swamy Temple

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious Swadesh Darshan project at Varkalas centuries-old Janardhana Swamy Temple has come to an abrupt halt after the municipality issued a stop memo to the tourism department on Thursday citing procedural lapses, including lack of approval from the local body. The Rs 25-crore project, launched earlier this month, aimed at upgrading basic facilities at the temple, a major pilgrim centre that sees lakhs of devotees performing post-funeral rites and ancestral rituals at the adjoining Papanasam beach. A senior Varkala municipality official told TNIE that the project lacks the mandatory Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance and the local bodys approval. We asked them to produce all necessary documents and gave them time. However, the department failed to submit them. We cannot allow any construction at the project site without CRZ clearance, said the official. Meanwhile, a temple official said neither the temple authorities nor local residents were aware of the project. We have not seen the detailed project report. The tourism department launched the work without any discussion, said the official. Sanjeev S J of Environmental Protection and Research Council termed the ongoing construction illegal and unscientific. They have demolished the heritage cliff to facilitate the construction. The temple is believed to be 2,000 years old. It should be a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India, he alleged. The tourism department has roped in the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society to implement the project, which has to be completed by December or the fund will get lapsed. The tourism director has convened an urgent meeting with the municipality and other stakeholders on Friday to sort out the issue.