Lucknow: After the alleged donation theft at Ayodhya’s Ram Temple, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has proposed new transparency measures with an aim to restore devotees’ confidence in the temple’s donation system.
The Trust has begun issuing ‘instant digital receipts’ to devotees making donations through its official website. The receipt is generated immediately after the payment is completed and can be downloaded instantly, ensuring that every online donation has a verifiable digital record in the donor’s possession.
For offline donations across the 30 donation boxes, the trust will issue a receipt if the devotee asks for one. Officials say this has not been made mandatory because a devotee may not want a receipt for smaller amounts.
The move comes as the Trust faces intense scrutiny following the alleged theft of donations from the temple complex
ThePrint has learnt that the Ram Temple trust has upgraded the donation section on its official website to facilitate the new system. To make an online contribution, devotees are now required to provide details including their name, purpose of donation, PAN number, date of donation, donation amount, address, state, district, country, PIN code, email address and mobile number.
Once the payment process is completed, the system automatically generates a digital receipt, which can be downloaded and stored for future reference.
The Trust has also published its official mobile number and email address on the website so that devotees can easily seek assistance or resolve any issues related to donations.
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Complaints prompted the reform
According to a senior Trust functionary, the decision was taken following the donation theft controversy and after several devotees’ complaint that they did not receive receipts promptly.
In another significant change, jewellery or other valuable items donated at the temple will also be recorded mandatorily, and a receipt issued to the devotee if they ask for it. Earlier, such a structured documentation system was not uniformly followed.
”To address the concerns over valuable offerings, the Trust has also introduced a new documentation system under which the donor’s name, address and details of the jewellery including its type and description will be recorded immediately by designated staff before issuing a receipt.”, said a senior functionary.
Trust officials believe the new system will enhance transparency, restore public confidence and make future verification of donation records much easier.
Sources within the Trust said the reforms are part of a broader effort to improve financial transparency following the donation theft case.
The Trust is expected to regularly publish on its official website detailed information regarding donations received, income generated and expenditure incurred.
According to Trust officials, the new procedures are intended to minimise the possibility of future financial disputes and strengthen accountability in handling donations.
Sharp decline in jewellery donations
The controversy has also had a visible impact on donation patterns at the temple.
“The donations of gold, silver and jewellery have fallen sharply since the alleged theft came to light in the month of June,” a temple employee involved in counting donations told ThePrint. “Earlier, it was common to find gold and silver coins, ornaments and jewellery mixed with currency notes whenever donation boxes were opened. However, such offerings have become increasingly rare after the controversy.”
“The incident has made devotees question whether the offerings they dedicate to Lord Ram ultimately remain secure,” the employee said.
Another employee said that until a few months ago it was common for emotionally moved devotees to offer rings, chains, earrings, pendants, bangles, bracelets and gold or silver coins into the donation boxes during darshan.
During the counting process, such valuables were routinely separated from currency notes and stored securely. He said devotees continue to donate but have become significantly more cautious after the theft case surfaced. For the last one month, not a single donor has come forward to donate precious jewellery in bulk, he added.
The trust has not officially declared any figure of the donations they received in the last two months.
Meanwhile, investigations by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the police continue into the donation theft case. As of now, eight people have already been sent to judicial custody.
Recently, the Yogi Adityanath government constituted a new SIT headed by IG Kiran S, with DIG (Ayodhya) Somen Verma and SSP (Ayodhya) Dr Gaurav Grover as members. The earlier SIT comprised Lucknow Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant and Special Secretary (Finance) Neel Ratan Kumar, among other officials.
The move comes after the Supreme Court, during the July 13 hearing, directed the state government to constitute a fresh SIT under the leadership of a senior IPS officer.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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