Lucknow: The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has taken several key administrative and organisational decisions, including the appointment of retired Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra as the CEO of the Ram Temple and the induction of three new prominent members into the trust.
Nirmala Yadav, Madan Mohan Pandey and Mahesh Bhagchandka have been given new responsibilities as trustees. The trust has also appointed Swami Govind Dev Giri, who was earlier its treasurer, as its regular general secretary.
Swami Govind Dev Giri has been associated with the trust and its key responsibilities since its formation. As general secretary, he will now play an important role in overseeing the trust’s administrative and organisational affairs.
A three member committee was constituted to select the CEO. It comprised retired Justice Pramod Kohli, Suresh Haware and Vishnu Kant Chaturvedi.
More than 5,500 applications were received for the post. Applicants were subsequently sent a Google Form containing questions carrying a total of 600 marks. More than 3,500 candidates submitted the form, on the basis of which they were evaluated.
According to sources in the Trust, 108 of these candidates scored more than 470 out of 600. They were then interviewed virtually, following which 17 candidates were shortlisted for the next stage.
In the shortlist for CEO, the three candidates were Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra, Major General Sanjay Pratap Singh and Shruti Bhardwaj. The trust ultimately reached a consensus on Mishra’s appointment.
The shortlisted candidates were called to Ayodhya for final interviews. They were assessed on several parameters, including leadership abilities, understanding of faith and religious matters, their ability to deal with challenges and their understanding of temple administration.
Speaking to ThePrint, a senior functionary involved in the selection process said, ”Several former IAS and IPS officers appeared for the interviews. But we decided to consider candidates from the armed forces, including the Army and Air Force, who had little or no previous association or posting in Ayodhya. The idea was to have someone with a more neutral image. The nationalist factor was also kept in mind while making the selection.”
This functionary added that retired Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra will bring nearly four decades of experience in the Indian Air Force, along with military discipline, to the administration of the Ram Temple.
Mishra was commissioned into the Indian Air Force as a fighter pilot on 6 December 1986. Over his career of around 39 years, he has more than 3,000 hours of flying experience and flew more than 18 types of fighter and transport aircraft and helicopters.
First woman member of the trust
The expansion of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has also brought Nirmala Yadav into the body as its first woman member.
Yadav, who hails from Shikohabad, had earlier played an important role in the Vishwa Hindu Parishad’s Nidhi Samarpan campaign for the Ram temple. She holds postgraduate degrees in Hindi and Sanskrit and has around 15 years of university-level academic experience.
Mahesh Bhagchandka, another new member, is related to late VHP president Ashok Singhal and currently runs the Ashok Singhal Foundation. He has been given the responsibility of the temple’s new treasurer.
Bhagchandka has long been associated with religious events. He was the chief ‘yajman’ (person who leads a religious ritual) during the Ram Temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in 2020 and also attended the 2024 pran pratishtha ceremony along with his family.
The third new member, Madan Mohan Pandey, is a senior lawyer from Ayodhya who has been closely associated with the legal battle over the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.
Pandey represented Ram Lalla in the long-running legal proceedings. In recognition of his legal services, he was appointed Additional Advocate General of the Allahabad High Court after the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in Uttar Pradesh.
Changes after the donation controversy
The latest appointments come against the backdrop of the controversy over donations at the Ram Temple.
After the controversy led to Champat Rai’s removal, Krishna Mohan Rai was appointed acting general secretary. The Trust has now replaced the arrangement by appointing its treasurer, Swami Govind Dev Giri, as the regular general secretary.
At the same time, the appointment of retired Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra as the temple’s first CEO marks a significant move towards strengthening its administrative structure after several questions were raised on the Trust’s credibility in the past few months.
On the other hand, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the alleged irregularities in donations at the Ayodhya Ram Temple has recently submitted its final report to the Uttar Pradesh government giving a clean chit to former Trust general secretary Champat Rai. But the investigation against trustee Anil Mishra who was handling an important segment of temple management will continue.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)