Ram Mandir trust gets office in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh government allots five-acre plot to Sunni Waqf Board

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in Parliament that the Centre is setting up an independent trust named Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust to finalise the details for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday (February 5) issued a notification announcing that the office of the trust will be in New Delhi.  As per the home ministry, the trust's registered office is at R-20, Greater Kailash Part-1, New Delhi.

In a related development, the Uttar Pradesh government also issued a notification saying the government has already issued an allotment letter of a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board, as ordered by the Supreme Court in its November 8, 2019 verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir dispute.

Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told the media that five-acre plot for the mosque is in Dhannipur village on the Lucknow highway, about 18 kilometres from Ayodhya.

Earlier on Wednesday, PM Modi said in Lok Sabha that Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust will take all decisions for the construction of a massive and grand Ram Temple on the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. The decision to form the trust was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi on Wednesday. "We have readied a scheme for the development of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. A trust has been formed, it is called 'Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra," said the prime minister.

"On November 9, 2019, I was in Punjab for Kartarpur Sahib Corridor's inauguration. During the inauguration ceremony, the Supreme Court judgement on Ayodhya was delivered and I got to know about the historic decision. Uttar Pradesh government has already given its approval for giving 5 acres of land to the Sunni Waqf Board," he said.