Govt in a fix over land for mosque in Ayodhya

With the Muslim plaintiffs seeking land within the 67 acres of acquired land in the vicinity of the makeshift Ram Temple in Ayodhya and unavailability of five-acre land within the city limits, the state government finds itself in a fix over the implementation of the Supreme Court order in Ayodhya case.

Iqbal Ansari, one of the main Muslim plaintiffs in the case, has asked the government to allot land for the mosque within the 67-acre land known as the Ram Janmabhoomi complex, which was acquired by the central government after the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

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Hindu seers, as well as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), are strongly against allotting any portion of the acquired land for the mosque. They, in fact, want the mosque outside the ‘14-kosi parikrama area’ (an area approximately measuring 42 kilometres around the Ayodhya town... the devotees make a round of the area during important religious events).

The Supreme Court had in its order directed the government to give five-acre land within the Ayodhya city limits to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque.

According to the sources, the authorities have so far failed to find a five-acre plot of land within the city limits. ‘’we are searching for a five-acre plot of land in the nearby revenue villages... the revenue officers have been asked to look for such a plot and submit a proposal for its acquisition,’’ a senior district official in Ayodhya told DH.

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The official said that there were a few plots measuring five-acre or more but they all were outside the municipal limits of Ayodhya.

He, however, added that there was a proposal to expand the municipal limits of Ayodhya.

‘’After the expansion, we may get some plots of five acres,’’ he added.

The problem is that the Muslim litigants might refuse to accept any land, which was far from the town.

Ansari’s demand and the Hindu seers’ reactions indicated that the two sides might well be headed for a showdown on the issue of land.