Layout approved, Ram temple at Ayodhya to spread over 274,000 sq mtr

Indo-Islamic Welfare Foundation initiates the process of building a mosque on separate 5 acres of land in the city

The grand temple at Ram Janambhoomi in Ayodhya will have a covered area of 13,000 square meters while 274,000 sq meters have been marked as open area. The structure's layout was approved on Wednesday at a board meeting of the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA). The Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has entrusted L&T with the job of constructing the temple.

The ADA board in its meeting, presided by Ayodhya commissioner M P Agarwal on Wednesday, discussed the layout plan of the monument and approved it. As per the layout, the open area in the proposed temple will be 274,110 square meter. The trust will deposit the required fees of Rs 5 crore for the temple layout towards development charges, labour cess and other expenses. The construction agency will use stones and copper bars to erect the temple instead of brick and iron. 

According to the members of the Ram Janambhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, at present work is going on to clear the proposed temple area and during this course few old temples have been removed. After clearing the area completely, the construction work will begin by the end of September. The modalities of the temple construction were decided in a meeting of trust recently held in Delhi. The stone carving work for the temple has been going on for the past two decades at the Karsewakpuram in Ayodhya.

Meanwhile the Indo-Islamic Welfare Foundation (IIWF) has also initiated the process of building a mosque in Ayodhya. The Sunni Central Waqf Board was given 5 acres in Ayodhya following the apex court orders on the Ram Janambhoomi dispute. The Waqf Board had formed a trust for using this land. The IIWF has appointed architect S M Akhtar for preparing the layout of the mosque and other structures. Akhtar is the founder dean of the Architecture department at Jamia University in Delhi. The IIWF has decided to build a research centre, library,  hospital and community kitchen on the 5-acre plot.