Overview

• Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced Cabinet approval to recreate the Saptakoteshwar temple at its historic Divar site within a newly sanctioned corridor.
• The government framed the corridor as a memorial to temples destroyed during Portuguese rule, with Sawant citing roughly 1,000 such demolitions.
• Planning and oversight will rest with a committee chaired by the archaeology secretary, and execution will be carried out by the Goa Infrastructure Development Corporation.
• Archaeological assessment will precede any rebuilding at the notified site, where experts earlier noted dressed stones and the possibility of a rock-cut tank.
• The plan envisions a large temple over about 10,000 square metres, building on a 2023 initiative that set up an expert committee and earmarked Rs 20 crore, with historical records tracing the deity’s relocation to Bicholim and a 1668 reconstruction under Shivaji.