The trust managing the Ayodhya Ram temple will decide on the name of the chief executive officer (CEO) and its deed amendment on Wednesday, besides deliberating on a series of other issues amid the row over alleged donation irregularities at the shrine.
The Sri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra Trust will meet on Wednesday in two separate sittings. The first sitting is scheduled from 2pm to 3pm and the second from 4pm to 6pm, with a 12-point agenda. This will be the third such gathering since the donation theft came to light.
The process for the CEO’s appointment began on July 6. A committee set up for the appointment screened 5,585 applications before shortlisting 111 for online interviews. Sixteen candidates were called to Ayodhya for face-to-face interviews.
Justice (retd) Pramod Kohli, the screening committee chairman, and members Lt Gen (Retd) V K Chaturvedi and scientist-industrialist Suresh Haware arrived in Ayodhya late on Monday and handed over a sealed letter to the trust chairman, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das Maharaj, with three shortlisted names. People aware of the matter said the shortlisted names will be deliberated and the CEO’s name will be announced on Wednesday.
Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, has called a full-time CEO critical to bringing professional administration and transparency. The trust has said that it will define the CEO’s powers, with no government interference. The CEO will report to the trust’s general secretary and is expected to formulate long-term plans.
{{/usCountry}}Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, has called a full-time CEO critical to bringing professional administration and transparency. The trust has said that it will define the CEO’s powers, with no government interference. The CEO will report to the trust’s general secretary and is expected to formulate long-term plans.
{{/usCountry}}The CEO will discharge all statutory, administrative, and financial responsibilities. The trust has said the CEO will develop systems, procedures, and operational practices appropriate to the nature and scale of the organisation, and build and strengthen its structure.
The CEO will serve as the highest executive authority, ensuring efficient management and future development, and ensuring compliance with all statutory, regulatory, and trust deed requirements.
The trust deed is being amended for the first time since the trust was created in February 2020. Trustees have moved a proposal for it. Previous proceedings will be confirmed before the amendment is taken up.
A permanent security coordination committee will be created for the first time, under the trust’s general secretary. An audited income-expenditure report for FY 2025-26 will be placed before the trust, apart from deliberations on religious, finance and construction committee decisions.
The trust will also review a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into donation theft and the status of proceedings pending in the Supreme Court.
The SIT’s final report into allegations of irregularities in the Ram Temple collections flagged “gross lapses” in the trust’s functioning. But it exonerated Champat Rai, who was forced to step down as the general secretary of the trust amid alleged donation irregularities, and a former trustee.
The Uttar Pradesh government constituted the SIT on June 13. It filed its interim report on July 20. The Supreme Court set up a second SIT on July 20.
The state SIT report criticised the trust and its lack of professional financial management. It questioned the role of the State Bank of India (SBI), which held the trust’s principal account. But it did not find any proof of allegations of embezzlement against Rai or former trust member Anil Mishra. The two resigned on June 25 in the face of mounting pressure and Opposition criticism.
The SIT named Ram Shankar Yadav, or Tinnu Yadav, a former aide and driver of Rai, as the mastermind behind the alleged diversion of funds. Yadav is one of eight men arrested in connection with the allegations.
The controversy first surfaced on June 7 when Opposition Samajwadi Party leader Tej Narayan ‘Pawan’ Pandey alleged that donations worth ₹5 crore to ₹7.5 crore were siphoned off from temple offerings. On June 13, the state government set up the SIT.
In its interim report, the state SIT alleged that a part of the offerings was siphoned off before being deposited into the temple’s designated bank account, leading to the arrest of eight employees associated with handling and counting donations on June 26.
HT reported that six of the eight arrested men were on the payroll of a Varanasi-based security agency that provided manpower to SBI, allegedly at the recommendation of trust members.