E-Paper
Ram Mandir Trust to appoint first CEO, revamp key panels today
The Trust is also expected to reconstitute all five of its committees, with changes likely in the Finance and Audit Committees.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will hold two crucial meetings on Wednesday to appoint the Ram Mandir’s first chief executive officer (CEO), reconstitute its five key committees and fill three vacant trustee posts, amid heightened scrutiny following the alleged donation-money embezzlement controversy.
The Trust’s executive committee will first meet at 3 pm at the Ram Janmabhoomi complex before convening a second meeting at Mani Ram Das Chhavni Peeth, the residence of Trust chairman Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.
The appointment of the temple’s first CEO is expected to be the most important decision. A three-member search committee will submit a shortlist of three candidates, one of whom will be selected to oversee the temple’s administration, finances and devotee services.
The post attracted applications from retired bureaucrats, corporate leaders and Ram devotees. The selection panel comprises retired Justice Pramod Kohli, retired Lt Gen Vishnukant Chaturvedi and former NIT Raipur director Suresh Haware.
Senior trustees, including treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri, Vishwa Teerth Prasannacharya, Vasudevanand Saraswati and interim general secretary Krishna Mohan, arrived in Ayodhya on Tuesday ahead of the meeting.
The Trust is also expected to reconstitute all five of its committees, with changes likely in the Finance and Audit Committees as part of efforts to strengthen administrative and financial oversight.
Three vacant trustee posts will also be filled. The vacancies arose after former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra resigned following the alleged donation controversy, while trustee Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra died in August 2025. Rai and Mishra’s resignations were accepted at the Trust’s July 6 meeting.
Trustees are also expected to discuss the SIT report on the alleged donation embezzlement. The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member SIT on June 13, extending its deadline to July 15. The meeting is also likely to deliberate on the fresh UP Police SIT constituted following the Supreme Court’s suggestion for a deeper probe.
Meanwhile, Ram temple trust member and Nirmohi Akhara’s Ayodhya chief mahant, Mahant Dinendra Das, on Tuesday denied reports claiming he had been removed from his post through an Akhara meeting held on July 5, calling them “baseless and misleading.”
Addressing a press conference, Das said the Akhara has 19 panchs, of whom 13 support him. He alleged that a section of the panchs was conspiring against him.
He also said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust meeting scheduled for 3 pm on Wednesday would discuss filling three vacant trustee posts. The agenda will also include counting the cash donations at the Ram Mandir and reviewing the temple’s security arrangements. HTC
