Amid allegations that the Ram Temple trust paid an inflated price for a plot of land in Ayodhya, its general secretary Champat Rai on Monday said the organisation was committed to full transparency.
Rai, the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, said the land at the centre of the controversy was bought to rehabilitate persons who had sold their plots to expand the Ram Temple complex.
“Those levelling allegations did not bother to reach out to the Trust to understand the facts of the matter which has led to confusion. All devotees of Shri Ram are requested not to believe any misinformation campaign,” he said.
Rai insisted that the price the Trust had paid for the 12,080 sq mtr of land parcel was much lower than the market rate.
He said the difference in the registration amount was on account of the original owners of the land executing their agreement with the present vendors at the rate agreed upon at different times – 2011, 2017 and 2019.
Rai said once the original owners settled their sale deed with the current vendors, the Trust registered the agreement promptly and with complete transparency.
According to a PTI report from Ayodhya, some local dealers claimed that the market price for the 12,000-square metre plot bought in March was actually three times the amount the Trust had paid.
Some property dealers said the land the trust bought for Rs 18.5 crore is worth Rs 5,000 per square foot. Local dealer Saurabh Vikram Singh put its market price at over Rs 60 crore.
Administration sources said the initial deal goes back to 2017, before land prices rocketed in Ayodhya following the Supreme Court verdict.
(Published 14 June 2021, 19:42 IST)