Puri, Mar 23: The row surrounding the expansion of the Puri Swargadwar (crematorium) is escalating day by day after the Puri collector on Wednesday disapproved the proposal for the second crematorium, while saying that the expansion plans of the existing Swargadwar will be carried out and action will be taken against any illegal encroachments and land grabs that come in the way of expansion. In this regard, the Puri administration has decided that it will launch a probe into the 16-acre land under the custody of Shankaracharya which had been allotted for the crematorium. If instances of land grab are found, then criminal cases will be lodged against the offenders. Notably, the 16-acre land was allotted for the Swargadwar by the Shankaracharya mutt, however, there are no land records for the same at the designated place. The administration seeks to probe how business establishments came up in the area and under whose name the land has been transferred. On the other hand, Puri Municipality Chairman Jayant Kumar Sarangi said that there are no records showing land in the name of Swargadwar and the amount of land which was acquired, is still there.
