In the 16th century, the area came under pachamani Mughal control. The Marathas, who succeeded the Mughals in the mid-18th century, encouraged pilgrimage in the region. In 1803, the area came under British colonial rule, and was part of the Bengal Presidency (until 1912), Bihar and Orissa Province (1912-1936) and Orissa Province (1936-1947). The capital of the British-ruled Orissa Province was Cuttack, which was vulnerabile to floods and suffered from space constraints. Because of this, on 30 September 1946, a proposal to move the capital to a new capital was introduced in the Legislative Assembly of the Odisha Province. After independence of India, the foundation of the new capital was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on 13 April 1948.