Ayodhya: Govt initiates action on forming Trust

Government has moved swiftly to initiate a process to form a Trust to handle the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya with a team of senior bureaucrats assigned to study the Supreme Court order and consult top law officers like the Attorney General.

Sources said the government is studying the 1,045-page judgement on Ayodhya delivered on Saturday to understand its technicalities and nuances.

The team has been asked to consult Attorney General K K Venugopal and the Ministry of Law to initiate the process of forming a Trust to handle the disputed land as well as construction of the temple as mandated by the Supreme Court. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has already initiated discussions with the Ministry of Law and Justice.

On Saturday, the apex court ruled in favour of the Hindu side clearing the decks for construction of the temple where Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished in December 1992. It also ordered providing five acres of land to the Sunni Waqf Board to build a mosque in Ayodhya.

As per the order, the court has given two options for providing land to the Muslim side -- either the Centre can provide the land from over 67 acre land, which includes the 2.77 acre disputed plot, it acquired after Babri Masjid demolition or the state can provide land at a prominent location in Ayodhya outside the Centre's acquired land.

Sources said finding a suitable plot inside the 67 acres could be difficult and chances are that it will be outside it. In such a scenario, the identification of the plot will be decided by the state government. There are different views within the Muslim community over accepting five acre land.

According to the Supreme Court order, the handing over the 2.77 acre plot to the Trust and five acres to the Sunni Waqf Board should be done simultaneously.

Sources also indicated that one of the possible dates for starting construction of the temple could coincide with Ram Navami festival in April next year.

The government is also exploring who all could be nominated as members of of the Trust. As per the order, it will have to ensure participation of Nirmohi Akhara. As a substantial portion of the land acquired by Centre belongs to Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas, they may also get a member in the Trust.

It is also looking at whether there is any need for the Parliament to pass any law to implement the judgement in totality or whether the Acquisition of Certain Area at Ayodhya Act, 1993 is adequate enough.