JAIPUR: A notice sent by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) to a popular Shiva temple is causing quite a stir in the capital of Rajasthan.

As part of its road-widening initiative, the JDA issued an encroachment notice to the Shiv Mandir.

The notice, issued on November 21st, demanded a response within seven days which angered local residents because the notice was sent directly to the Shiv Mandir, rather than to any manager or management body of the temple.

The temple is located in the posh Vaishali Nagar locality of the Pink City.

According to the survey report of JDA Zone 7, the temple’s boundary wall extends 1.59 metres inside the proposed road line, qualifying as encroachment.

The notice warns that if no reply or supporting documents are submitted within the deadline, unilateral action will be taken to remove the encroachment.

Residents, however, are furious, claiming that the temple is not an illegal structure but was built by the JDA itself years ago, along with the adjoining park. The boundary wall, they say, was constructed by the authority’s own agency.

Calling the same structure an encroachment now, they argue, is completely unjustified.