₹ 2,150 cr spent on Ram Mandir in last five years: Trust

Ram Mandir Trust spent ₹2,150 crore in five years; 96% of construction is done. No chief priest appointed; silver bricks received from devotees.

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has incurred a total expenditure of ₹2,150 crore till date in the ongoing construction work of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in the last five years after the Trust was constituted on February 5, 2020.

Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of Ram Temple Trust, presided over the Board of Trustees’ meeting on March 16. (Sourced)

A meeting of the Trust’s Board of Trustees was held at Mani Ram Das Chhavni in Ayodhya on Sunday in which out of 15 members, 12 were present. Four of them joined online while two could not attend and another member Kameshwar Kameshwar Chaupal died on February 7 this year.

Trust’s chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das presided over the meeting. It was decided in the meeting that there will be no chief priest of the Ram Mandir. The head priest of Ram Lalla Acharya Satyendra Das died on February 12 this year.

Giving this information, Champat Rai, the general secretary of the Trust, said in the last five years the Trust paid ₹396 crore to various government agencies. Out of this amount, ₹272 crore was paid as GST to the government, Rai added. The Trust has received 944 kg of silver from devotees in the last five years which is around 92 percent pure.

The Minting Corporation, a government of India body, has minted silver into 20 kg silver bricks. “The Trust has received these silver bricks which have been kept in bank lockers,” Rai said. On the occasion, Rai also informed that 96 percent of construction work of Ram Mandir is over. On this Ram Navami on April 6, Sun rays will illuminate Ram Lalla at 12:00 noon for around four minutes.

Public broadcaster Doordarshan will broadcast live the Surya Tilak event and 50 LCD screens will be put up across Ayodhya for locals to view the spectacle.

Facts in figures

₹2,150 crore total expenditure in last five years

₹18 percent tax paid to government, ₹200 crore paid to Uttar Pradesh Rajkiya Nirman Nigam for constructing three gates around Ram Katha Museum

₹396 crore paid to various government agencies

₹272 crore GST

₹39 crore deposited in govt’s account

₹14.90 crore paid as royalty

₹7.40 crore spent as labour fund for workers engaged in construction work

₹4 crore paid in insurance policy

₹5 crore paid to Ayodhya Vikas Pradhikaran for approval of map of Ram Janmabhoomi

₹29 crore paid as registration fee for land purchased in Ayodhya

₹10 crore paid for electricity bill