A day after his appointment as the first chief executive officer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Air Marshal (retd) Jeetendra Mishra arrived in Ayodhya on Thursday morning and held closed-door meetings with office-bearers, understanding finances, staffing and security protocols.
Mishra, who headed the Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, landed at Maharishi Valmiki International Airport at 9.15am from New Delhi. He was received by new general secretary Govind Dev Giri and new treasurer Mahesh Bhagchandka.
Though Mishra has been appointed as the CEO, he has not formally taken charge of the post yet, people familiar with the matter said.
“Today, I attended the first meeting of the Trust, and the first meeting was an introductory meeting where we got to know about each other and about each other’s work. Over the next two, three, four, or five days, as the Trust desires, I will sit with them and thoroughly understand my work. Once I have understood it, I will take over as the CEO,” Mishra told reporters.
The CEO’s appointment is part of the trust’s efforts to overhaul the administration’s functioning following the controversy over alleged embezzlement of temple donations, which led to the arrest of eight people and the resignation of Champat Rai as general secretary.
{{/usCountry}}The CEO’s appointment is part of the trust’s efforts to overhaul the administration’s functioning following the controversy over alleged embezzlement of temple donations, which led to the arrest of eight people and the resignation of Champat Rai as general secretary.
{{/usCountry}}“I would like to thank the selection committee and the Trust. It is also by the grace of Lord Ram, so I do not wish to say much more,” added Mishra who will stay in Ayodhya.
“My heart is filled with gratitude, and I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been given this responsibility twice in my life — once in service of the nation, and now in service of Ram temple, devotees, and the administration of the temple,” Mishra said.
Govind Dev Giri said, “The trust members had a formal introduction with the new CEO today. SOPs for the CEO specifying duties and responsibilities will be made in the coming days.”
Mishra attended another meeting on the trust’s accounts in the evening, which was joined by Giri, Krishna Mohan and other trust members at the Ram temple, trust sources said.
He was briefed about various aspects of the trust’s functioning, including its administrative and financial arrangements, the sources said.
He also asked several questions related to the trust and the temple, which were answered by the members, the sources added.
The CEO’s role will combine temple administration, financial oversight, employee supervision, infrastructure management, pilgrim facilitation and inter-agency coordination, making him a crucial functionary in the management of the expanding Ram temple ecosystem.
With the scale of pilgrim footfall and the supporting infrastructure continuing to expand, the CEO is likely to emerge as the key operational link between the temple trust, its employees and various government agencies responsible for security, traffic, transport and civic amenities.
One of the CEO’s principal responsibilities will be supervising the workforce deployed for the temple’s security, cleanliness, maintenance and management. The number of employees involved in these operations is expected to be around 1,500-2,000.
Managing donations and offerings will be another major responsibility. The CEO will be expected to strengthen accounting and financial systems for the money and other offerings received by the temple.
Facilitating the movement of lakhs of devotees will be among the most challenging operational tasks. Mishra will have to work on systems that allow pilgrims to have a smooth and orderly darshan while ensuring that crowd movement does not compromise security.
Security will remain a critical component of the CEO’s responsibilities.