Chandigarh, June 17 (IANS) Haryana Wednesday granted 5.52 acres of land free of cost for constructing a Lord Venkteswara (Balaji) temple in the state, an official said.

The temple would be set up in Haryana's historic town of Kurukshetra, which is known for the mythological battle of the Mahabharata.

'The land will be given on 99 years lease in the east-south corner of Brahmsarover. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) will plan and take up the construction, which would commence within the next three to four months and it would complete the project in three years,' said a government spokesperson.

'The temple will be exact replica of the existing temple at Tirumala and the TTD would include two nominees of Haryana in the managing committee of the temple. The TTD will also assist the Kurukshetra Development Board in further development of Jyotisar, the birthplace of the Gita, and other holy places in the district,' he added.

Kurukshetra town is about 110 km from Chandigarh and 150 km from New Delhi.

The TTD intends to depict the 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu, with Lord Balaji, in the sanctum sanctorum.

TTD had showed interest in setting up a temple at Kurukshetra in February, as a large number of devotees from this region regularly visit the Tirupati temple.