Ayodhya, Jul 22 (PTI) The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday deferred the selection of its first chief executive officer (CEO) by a month after receiving 5,200 applications for the post and decided to appoint a secretary in the interim to meet growing administrative requirements.
The meeting of the board of trustees, however, saw no decision on filling the three vacant posts in the Trust. The next meeting on this and other pending issues would take place on September 2, its officials said.
The members reviewed arrangements for the expected rise in the number of devotees during the ongoing Shravan month, progress on filling vacant trustee posts and several administrative and financial issues.
After the meeting, interim general secretary Krishna Mohan and treasurer Govind Dev Giri briefed the press.
The treasurer said a committee constituted to select the CEO has sought an additional month to scrutinise the large number of applications received for the post.
“We have received a total of 5,200 applications for the CEO post. Considering the volume of applications, the selection committee sought one month’s additional time, which has been approved by the Trust,” he said.
He added that the Trust has also decided to constitute a permanent religious committee to oversee all religious affairs of the Ram temple.
“The committee will comprise nine saints, including five from Ayodhya and four from outside,” he said.
Giri said the Trust has also decided to establish a permanent training institute for priests.
“We have decided to set up a permanent training institute for training priests. These priests will be certified by the Ram temple Trust,” Govind Dev Giri said.
Trust acting general secretary Krishna Mohan said discussions on the final report of the Special Investigation Team (SIT), probing alleged irregularities in the counting of devotees’ offerings, could not take place as the report had not yet been received by the Trust.
He said the trustees, however, took note of the proceedings before the Supreme Court and the directions passed by it in connection with petitions relating to the alleged embezzlement of temple donations.
The trustees also reviewed the security mechanism of the temple’s CCTV network and expressed satisfaction that all security officials already have access to the entire surveillance system, including cameras installed in the donation counting room, Krishna Mohan said.
A memorandum of understanding signed with the State Bank of India for counting offerings was discussed, he said, adding that members expressed disappointment over the bank’s response after irregularities came to light.
The board directed the Trust’s finance committee to review its relationship with the bank and examine standard operating procedures before taking an appropriate decision, according to Krishna Mohan.
Krishna Mohan further said the trustees were satisfied that arrangements with the Reserve Bank of India’s mint for testing the quantity and purity of gold and silver offerings would continue uninterrupted.
The Trust has decided to appoint an official spokesperson to ensure regular communication with the public through the media, he said.
On filling the three vacant trustee posts, Krishna Mohan said, “The board reviewed the ongoing process and felt that it would take a few more weeks to complete.” The Trust also reconstituted its religious committee to ensure the authenticity and purity of temple rituals in accordance with established traditions.
The committee will be headed by Govind Dev Giri and include Jagadguru Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Saraswati, Swami Vishwaprasannatirth, Mahant Dinendra Das of the Nirmohi Akhara, Swami Kamalnayan Das of Maniram Chhawani, Mahant Rajkumar Das of Ramavallabh Kunj, Swami Ramanand Das of Ram Katha Kunj and Swami Mithileshnandini Sharan.
Meanwhile, Krishna Mohan also described the claim — that devotees’ number has dipped in the recent weeks — as “baseless and misleading allegations”. He said the number of devotees visiting the Ram temple has remained unchanged, reflecting the unwavering faith of crores of devotees.
The trustees also expressed gratitude to the saint community, devotees from India and abroad, and the people of Awadh for their “continued support and confidence” in the Trust.
The meeting of trustees was held amid a row over alleged embezzlement of donations offered at the Ram temple.
The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to examine the allegations. Following the submission of its preliminary report on June 23, an FIR was registered on June 25 and eight accused – Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav – were arrested.
Police have recovered cash from multiple accused, including Rs 20.39 lakh from Avinash Shukla, besides gold, silver, foreign currency and a donation box labelled ‘Ramrajya Kosh’.
The SIT’s final report has since been submitted before the Supreme Court. PTI KIS JKY MAN COR PRK PRK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.