Karnataka unveils ₹250 crore plan for Ganagapur temple
The Karnataka government has unveiled a INR 250 crore master plan for the development of the Sri Dattatreya Temple in Ganagapur, according to reports. The.
The Karnataka government has unveiled a INR 250 crore master plan for the development of the Sri Dattatreya Temple in Ganagapur, according to reports. The plan aims to improve infrastructure for the thousands of devotees who visit the temple every day from Karnataka and neighboring states.
The first phase of the plan is estimated at INR 50 crore and includes several projects, such as a facelift of the Sangam Ghat (INR 17.12 crore), works at Papavinash Teertha (INR 12.50 crore), a promenade (INR 6.50 crore), parking and transit facilities (INR 9.10 crore), a pedestrian pathway (INR 52 lakh), and upgrades to the temple complex (INR 4.25 crore).
The Detailed Project Report (DPR) and designs for the plan were prepared under Home Minister Priyank Kharge, who represents the region. The proposal is waiting for approval from the state cabinet. Deputy Commissioner Ikram Sharief expects approval shortly and wants Ganagapur to become a major pilgrimage destination.
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Ganagapur, on the banks of the Bhima River, is one of the main pilgrimage centres for devotees of Dattatreya. The temple committee’s own master plan, published on the temple’s website, says the temple area is very small, about 25 metres by 25 metres, with petty shops and houses around it and very narrow roads, which make it hard to manage large crowds.
It proposed widening the area to 200 metres by 200 metres by acquiring private land, which would need the rehabilitation of about 256 houses. It also flagged flood risk from the Bhima river, noting that six people and some livestock had been washed away in an earlier flood, and called for stone pitching along the riverbank, wider and asphalted approach roads, and a bus stand with shops, a cafeteria and a dormitory.
In recent years, other proposals have been made for the temple’s development, including a request by BJP Rajya Sabha member Jaggesh in July 2024 for INR 83.52 crore in funding. The state government, in the 2023-24 budget under the previous government, had also announced a grant for the full development of the Ganagapura Dattatreya temple complex. According to a Lok Sabha reply of August 2025, the state government sent a proposal for the temple’s development under the Centre’s PRASHAD scheme in October 2024.
