The government has made the first donation of Re 1 in cash to the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust to begin its work of constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, officials said. D Murmu, an Under Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs, contributed the amount to the trust on behalf of the central government on Wednesday.
The trust will accept donations, grants, subscriptions, aids or contribution from any person in cash, kind, including immovable properties, without any conditions, the officials said. It will initially function from the residence of senior lawyer K Parasaran but will look for a permanent office later, they said. The Centre on Wednesday constituted the independent 15-member Trust to oversee the construction of a “grand and magnificent” Ram temple in Ayodhya, an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha four days before the expiry of a three-month deadline set by the Supreme Court.
In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said the Trust will have its registered office in Greater Kailash locality, an upscale area in south Delhi, and will have a representative from the Dalit community. The members of the trust include senior lawyer K Parasaran, Jagatguru Shankracharya, Jyothishpeethadheeshwar Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj from Allahabad, Jagatguru Madhavacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannatheerth Ji Maharaj, Pejawar Math in Udupi, Yugpurush Paramanand Ji Maharaj from Haridwar, Swami Govinddev Giri Ji Maharaj from Pune and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra from Ayodhya.
Besides, the following will be the trustees – Anil Mishra, a homoeopathic doctor from Ayodhya, Kameshwar Chaupal from Patna who is a Scheduled Caste member, and Mahant Dinendra Das, Nirmohi Akhara, Ayodhya Baithak. Two prominent people who shall be practising Hindus will be nominated by the board of trustees with a majority resolution. One representative will be nominated by the Centre who shall be a practising Hindu by religion and a serving member of the IAS and who shall not be below the rank of joint secretary to the government of India and shall be an ex officio member.
One representative will be nominated by the UP government who shall be a practising Hindu and an IAS officer and not below the rank of secretary to the UP government and shall be an ex officio member. The Ayodhya district collector will be the ex officio trustee who shall be a practising Hindu. If for any reason the incumbent collector is not a practising Hindu, the additional collector of Ayodhya who shall be a practising Hindu shall be an ex officio member.
The chairman of the committee for the development and administration of matters relating to the Ram Temple complex, who will be appointed by the Board of Trustees, who shall be a practising Hindu, shall be an ex officio member. Modi said that keeping in mind the construction of the temple and the spirit of the devotees who would come to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla in the future, the government has taken another important decision to transfer the whole of the approx 67.703 acre acquired land to the new Trust.
