Govt names members of Ayodhya Ram temple trust

The government on Wednesday named members of the 'Shri Ram Janambhoomi Teertha Kshetra' trust constituted for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya as mandated by the Supreme Court, officials said.

The members include senior lawyer K Parasaran, Jagatguru Shankracharya, Jyothishpeethadheeshwar Swami Vasudevanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj from Allahabad, Jagatguru Madhavacharya Swami Vishwa Prasannatheerth Ji Maharaj, Pejawar Math in Udupi, Yugpurush Paramanand Ji Maharaj from Haridwar, Swami Govinddev Giri Ji Maharaj from Pune and Vimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra from Ayodhya.

Besides, the following will also be the trustees, Anil Mishra, a homoeopathic doctor from Ayodhya and Kameshwar Chaupal from Patna who is a Scheduled Caste member, and Mahant Dinendra Das, Nirmohi Akhara, Ayodhya Baithak.

Two prominent people who shall be a practising Hindu will be nominated by the board of trustees with a majority resolution. One representative will be nominated by the Centre who shall be a practising Hindu by religion and a serving member of the IAS and who shall not be below the rank of joint secretary to Government of India and shall be an ex officio member.

One representative will be nominated by the UP government who shall be a practising Hindu and an IAS officer and shall not be below the rank of secretary to the UP government and shall be an ex officio member and the Ayodhya district collector will be the ex officio trustee who shall be a practising Hindu.

If for any reason the incumbent collector is not a practising Hindu, the additional collector of Ayodhya who shall be a practising Hindu shall be an ex officio member. The chairman of the committee for the development and administration of matters relating to the Ram Temple complex, who will be appointed by the Board of Trustees, who shall be a practising Hindu shall be an ex officio member.

The Centre on Wednesday constituted an independent 15-member trust to oversee the construction of a "grand and magnificent" Ram temple in Ayodhya, an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha four days before the expiry of a 3-month deadline set by the Supreme Court.