Facing crisis of credibility, Ayodhya trust puts temple land details on Net, may adopt Kashi model

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has uploaded the details of the land purchased for the expansion of the grand Ayodhya temple on its official website.

Sources told The Daily Guardian that the remaining details related to the purchase of the land will be made public in the coming time.

The Trust’s move is aimed at making the Ram devotees participating in the fund surrender campaign aware of the truth of the purchase of land. The trust has put the details of the purchase of land on the website in English and Hindi.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has strongly denied allegations of corruption levelled by Opposition parties in the land purchase. A statement, signed by Trust secretary Champat Rai, said, “After the Supreme Court order, a lot of people started coming to Ayodhya to purchase land, and as the UP government is also purchasing a lot of land for development works, the land price increased suddenly. The land on which discussion has started is very close to the railway station and, therefore, is at a very important location. All the land purchased by the Trust is purchased at a price much lower than the market price.”

Meanwhile, seers in Ayodhya and outside are divided over the issue. While Swami Avimukteshwaranand, who is close to Shankaracharya Swaroopanand, has accused the Trust of misusing donor’s money, another seer and former MP Ram Vilas Vedanti said that the honesty and integrity of trust general secretary Champat Rai is beyond any doubt. He, however, said that a Kashi-like land acquisition should be used in Ayodhya.

Sources say that with a serious question mark being raised in the Ayodhya land deal, the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust may adopt the Kashi model.

In Kashi (Varanasi), the state government has carried out several such deals for the Kashi-Vishwanath corridor project. As per the Kashi model, a valuation committee of revenue department officials and engineers is entrusted with the task of finalising the rate of the land to be purchased for the corridor project. On the basis of the committee’s report, the deal is finalised.