Mahalaxmi temple development plan land acquisition to begin in march: Collector

Kolhapur: District collector Amol Yedge said that the process for land acquisition under the Mahalaxmi Temple Development Plan will begin from March. He said once the proposal sent to the Urban Development Department is approved within a week, discussions will be held with the property owners in the area regarding the acquisition.Collector Yedge also said a slight change will be made to the plan, and it is very likely that the parking facility will be made on the road between Bindu Chowk and Bhawani Mandap. He said a thought is also being given to shifting the current sub-jail elsewhere and converting the jail premises into a museum. He added that a final decision will be taken after discussing it with residents and traders.A physical survey of the properties will be done in 10 to 15 days for the land acquisition required for the Mahalaxmi Temple Development Plan. Along with that, discussions will also be held with the relevant property owners.A committee was appointed under the chairmanship of the additional chief secretary of the State Finance Department for the land acquisition. The compensation, either in the form of rehabilitation or monetary compensation, will be given."A decision will also be made on how to implement the plan and on which side the land acquisition will be done. For that, a survey of the actual properties will be conducted. There is also a possibility that the location of the previous darshan queue will be changed. This will allow the darshan queue to be set up from the eastern gate, and this is also being considered. If a darshan pavilion is built on this side, parking facilities will be provided on the route from Bindu Chowk to Main Rajaram High School."There are shops and houses on the route from Bindu Chowk to Main Rajaram High School. It is possible to raise it and arrange parking under it.The counting of offerings made by devotees in the 11 donation hundis (boxes) at the Mahalaxmi temple premises is carried out by the Paschim Maharashtra Devasthan Samiti (PMDS). In the past two months, devotees made donations of over Rs 2.2 crore.