Among other things, what is most intriguing is the issue about the Trust buying land far away from the Ram Janmabhoomi complex

The Ayodhya land deal is getting murkier. Questionable deals are heard of every day, raising questions as to how much land Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust needs for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya. The temple at the birthplace of Lord Ram is a matter of faith for millions of Hindus and that has spurred them to give donations for the construction in Ayodhya. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad volunteers and workers of other pro-Hindu organizations have travelled across the length and breadth of the nation and collected ‘chanda’ worth over Rs 3,000 crorefor the temple.

It all started with the exposure of the Rs 18-crore deal for the purchase of 1.208 hectares of land. Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh claimed that the said land was purchased for Rs 2 crore and sold within five minutes to the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust at nine times the purchase price.  Another expose showed that Deep Narayan Upadhyaya, nephew of Ayodhya's Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyaya, bought a piece of land for Rs 20 lakh and sold it to the Trust for Rs 2.5 crore.

Strangely, Dr. Anil Mishra, a member of the Trust,and Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyaya—who is also a senior BJP leader — were witnesses to both land deals. The question is how can a Trust member witness a land deal purchased by the Trust.

The second question is how much land the Trust really needs for the temple at Ram Janmabhoomi (RJB) complex. The Trust is already in possession of 67.703 acres of land at the complex the Union Government had acquired following the 1992 demolition of the mosque. It was handed over to the Trust in August 2020.The Supreme Court verdict of November 2019 gave an additional 2. 77 acres of land (where the Babri mosque stood), to the Trust bringing the total land to just over 70 acres.

It is claimed that there were some problems at the northern end of the land and it was not possible to construct a gate because of “Vastu” issues. So, additional land was required. The secretary-general of the Trust,Champat Rai, hinted in March that the Trust was scouting for more land. The 890 square-meter plot sold for Rs 2 crore is said to be that land. The Trust members explain that they had acquired many houses and temples situated on that plot of land.

However, what is inexplicable is the Trust buying land far away from the RJB complex. The first deal of 1.208 hectares is a Rs bagia' (orchard) which is 2.5 km from the complex. The Trust says it needed the land to rehabilitate people whose land and houses it has acquired. However, the Trust is silent on who are these people and how many of them need rehabilitating, and how much land is needed for the purpose.

Champat Rai says the land is also needed to construct roads. As per Uttar Pradesh Government records, it has allocated Rs 2000 crore for building infrastructure including roads in Ayodhya, keeping in mind the inflow of tourists. The Government in its Master Plan 2031 claims 343 Gram Sabhas have been included in the newly formed Ayodhya Development Authority. The government has also released funds to develop Ayodhya as a world-class religious tourism hub and expects around 6.8 crore tourists annually.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has said in one of the review meetings held in early June:"The developmental plan should be chalked out to keep the historical and religious heritage of Ayodhya. Professionals will be consulted to restore places of historical and religious importance." Adityanath also said that the Government has acquired 160 acres of land for the airport and an additional 250 acres needed remain to be acquired.

The government has also launched Ayodhya facelift projects which include building multi-level parking, setting up facilities at Panchkosi, Chaudah Kosi, and Chaurasi Kosi Marg, the riverfront from Guptar Ghat to Naya Ghat, andorganising the flow of Saryu river waters at Ram Ki Paidi. Roads in Ayodhya are being widened and the expansion of Ram Katha park has been taken up.

The tourism department has undertaken development works worth Rs 258.12 crore. The department has been asked to send a proposal to the Union government for Rs 200 crore for theme-based gates, development of parikrama roads, construction of tourist facilities, parking, and food courts. The state government has also sanctioned Rs 400 crore for the construction of an inter-state bus terminal and a flyover to ease traffic.

If the government is allocating money for the construction of roads and gates why is the Trust spending money to purchase land? There are many such questions thatare begging answers. A section of the people believes that the Trust should follow the Kashi model of acquiring land for the construction of the Kashi Viswanath Corridor project. A valuation committee comprising officials of the revenue department and engineers was appointed for the purpose and the committee was entrusted with the task of finalizing the rate of the land to be purchased for the project. Thus, there was transparency in the deal about the existing land rate and the rate at which land was finally acquired.

In the Ayodhya case, there is no transparency and the Trust is also silent about the rate at which it purchased the land. Champat Raihas claimed that the Trust land was purchased at the cheapest rate. There is a question mark about the character of the seller of the land. Harish Pathak, one of the sellers, and his wife, Kusum Pathak, are fugitives in police records and are absconding.

Harish, Kusum, and their son Vikas, along with three others, opened an office in the name of Saket Goat Farming Limited on the Devkali Beniganj Road in Faizabad in 2009. Interested farmers were asked to deposit Rs  5,000 and promised two goats or Rs  8000 cash after three years. However, upon maturity, the Pathaks refused to pay and one day vanished. The cheated farmers lodged an FIR against them with the police. In August 2018 the police declared them fugitives and attached their property, including their house.

On October 19, 2019, one Ram Sagar of Gonda registered a case against the Pathaks in the Cantonment police station for cheating. It is learned that in other districts too, investors had filed cases against them. Since then, they have remained absconders in police records, but on March 18, 2021, Harish Pathak and Kusum Pathak made three registries and agreements in the name of Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust in a single day. Neither the police nor the local administration noticed this development. How come the Ram Mandir Trust ended up buying two parcels of land worth Rs 18.5 crore and Rs 8 crore, respectively, from the couple who are supposed to be on the run?

The Trust officials need to answer these questions. The Ram Temple epitomizes Ram Rajya where transparency is supposed to be the buzz word.

(The writer is Political Editor, The Pioneer, Lucknow)