The Administrative Council (AC) of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) on Thursday (1 April) approved the proposal to allot land to the Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam (TTD) for building a temple in Jammu.

The decision to grant 62 acres of land for a lease period of 40 years was taken at a meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, reports The Hindu.

With this, TTD which is one of the country’s richest independent trusts that manages the famous Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Temple in Andhra Pradesh, will build its first ever temple in J&K.

“The temple will have other allied infrastructures, including pilgrim amenities complex, Veda Pathshala, spiritual and meditation centre, residential quarters and parking. In the future, there would be medical and educational facilities also on the campus,” a government spokesman said.

“The TTD’s arrival in J&K will tap the tourism potential, particularly pilgrim tourism in Jammu, the city of Temples, besides enhancing economic activities,” the spokesman said.

“The TTD infrastructure will be an attraction for the pilgrims and tourists in addition to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine and the Amarnathji shrine. It will enable tourists to come and stay longer in Jammu city and will also contribute to economic growth of the region,” he added.