The Bombay High Court's Kolhapur bench on May 8 directed the district collectors of Kolhapur and Sangli to identify all encroachments within the prohibited area of the Kopeshwar Temple at Khidrapur in Shirol tehsil of Kolhapur district. The court ordered the collectors to submit a status report on or before June 15.
Urgent Conservation Measures Ordered
The bench, comprising Justice Madhav Jamdar and Justice Pravin S Patil, also asked the central government and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to take instructions regarding the maintenance of the protected monument. The court noted that there is immediate urgency to take corrective steps under Section 14 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, before the onset of the monsoon season. The matter has been listed for the next hearing on May 15.
PIL Filed by Activist
The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Kolhapur-based activist Prashant Vasantrao Salunkhe. The PIL seeks directions for the conservation and protection of the 12th-century temple, which lies along the banks of the Krishna River that forms the boundary between Kolhapur and Sangli districts.
Flood Damage Concerns
Advocate Yuvraj Narvankar, representing the petitioner, informed the court that during monsoon, the temple suffers damage due to floods. The petitioner sought directions to ascertain the present condition of the temple, steps taken based on the structural audit report prepared by IIT Bombay, conservation works undertaken in the last three years, and conservation works planned and budgeted for the next two years. The petitioner also requested details of the utilization of funds allocated under the 2021 MSRDC scheme for conservation of the temple, for which around Rs 101 crore was allocated.
