The controversy erupted after allegations surfaced of discrepancies in the accounting of temple donations, with claims ranging from around Rs 7 crore to much higher unverified amounts.
The allegations triggered a political storm and led to the recovery of cash from the residence of a temple employee.
The former bureaucrat said the episode had deeply distressed him, especially as the controversy emerged at a time when the Ram Temple project is in its final stages of completion.
The issue was amplified by opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who cited reports alleging that crores of rupees donated at the Ram Temple were unaccounted for.
The trust alleged that rumours and misinformation were being spread on social media to tarnish the image of the Ram Temple and hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees.
Amid the controversy over alleged misappropriation of donations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Ram Janmabhoomi Temple Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Misra, has called for a complete overhaul of the shrine's management system, saying the episode has exposed serious lapses in supervision, accountability and compliance with established procedures.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Mishra said the alleged irregularities were not only a blow to devotees' faith but also a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities within the temple's administrative framework.
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"I have not formally submitted any proposal, but I have shared my views publicly. My firm opinion is that the entire management structure should be reorganised and entrusted to experienced professionals," Misra, a retired IAS officer and former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said.
The controversy erupted after allegations surfaced of discrepancies in the accounting of temple donations, with claims ranging from around Rs 7 crore to much higher unverified amounts. The allegations triggered a political storm and led to the recovery of cash from the residence of a temple employee. Subsequently, the UP government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to examine donation registers, vault records and CCTV footage. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that its accounts are regularly audited and that no irregularities have been detected.
The former bureaucrat said the episode had deeply distressed him, especially as the controversy emerged at a time when the Ram Temple project is in its final stages of completion.
"I am very hurt, especially because it is at, at the time when I am almost concluding the assignment for temple construction," he told India Today TV.
Explaining the existing administrative arrangement, Misra said much of the temple's functioning is based on an informal volunteer-driven system rather than a clearly defined institutional framework.
"At present, the management functions in a different manner. Most of the people working there are volunteers. They are informally told how to perform their duties, but there are no written orders, no fixed responsibilities and no proper distribution of work," he said.
According to the officer, nearly 1,500 people are engaged in various activities within the temple complex, making a formal and accountable management structure essential.
He argued that such a large institution, which receives massive footfall and donations from devotees across the country and abroad, requires clearly defined administrative protocols and accountability mechanisms.
'TRUST OF DEVOTEES HAS BEEN HURT'
Referring to the donation theft controversy, Nripendra Misra said the incident has raised serious questions about the systems that were meant to safeguard devotees' offerings.
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"This incident is certainly a challenge to the faith of devotees and hurt them. At the same time, it is a question mark for all the different wings of the management system," he said.
Misra revealed that he had examined documents and directives issued between 2023 and 2025 regarding the handling and counting of donations and found that detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) were already in place.
"I have studied certain documents containing instructions issued between 2023 and 2025. There was a detailed SOP. Had it been followed, we would not be witnessing this situation today," he said.
Highlighting the level of detail in the guidelines, Misra said the SOP even specified the clothing to be worn by personnel involved in counting donations.
"It contained details such as what clothes a person entering the counting room should wear. Those clothes were to be provided by the State Bank of India. Every time a person entered or exited, checks were to be conducted. But from what I have informally learned, these documents were not implemented," he said.
SERIOUS GAPS IN HANDLING OF CASH AND VALUABLES
Misra also pointed to deficiencies in the process of handling different categories of donations, including cash, coins and precious metals.
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Describing how devotees often offer valuables directly into donation boxes, he said the system relied heavily on trust and required robust oversight at every stage.
"When a woman stands before the deity and donates her jewellery, she removes her ring or ornament and drops it into the donation box out of pure faith. When those boxes are emptied for counting, currency notes, coins and precious metals all come out together," he said.
"I believe there were serious shortcomings in accounting for all three categories," he added.
According to Misra, the problems extended beyond counting and included weak supervisory mechanisms.
The former principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi said supervisory arrangements involving bank officials and trust representatives lacked the rigour necessary for handling large volumes of donations.
"More importantly, the supervision itself was weak. Two representatives from the bank and two from the trust were supposed to oversee the process, but the supervision was entirely informal," he said.
He further noted that monitoring remained inadequate even after donations were counted and transferred to banks.
"When cash, jewellery and other valuables were transported to the bank, the level of control that should have existed was missing. Somewhere there was a lack of monitoring and oversight," he said.
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Misra stressed that both integrity and supervision are fundamental pillars of any management system and suggested that failures had occurred on both fronts.
POLITICAL STORM IN UP OVER AYODHYA ROW
The controversy stems from allegations made by Pawan Pandey, a former Ayodhya MLA, who claimed that at least Rs 7 crore in donations had been siphoned off. The issue was amplified by opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who cited reports alleging that crores of rupees donated at the Ram Temple were unaccounted for. Calling the matter highly sensitive given the faith associated with the shrine, Yadav urged the courts to take cognisance of the allegations and sought clarity on the handling of devotees' contributions.
As the debate intensified, the controversy moved beyond opposition criticism. Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh added fuel to the fire by claiming that he was aware of the alleged misuse of donations, though he declined to publicly disclose details.
Senior BJP leader Rajneesh Singh also entered the debate by writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demanding greater transparency in the trust's finances. He called for the public disclosure of donations, expenditures, assets, bank accounts and land transactions, arguing that devotees who had contributed to the temple had a right to know how their offerings were being utilised.
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The trust, however, strongly rejected allegations of any financial irregularity. Trust General Secretary Champat Rai said internal audits were already underway and that no evidence supporting claims of missing funds had emerged. He maintained that representatives of the trust and the State Bank of India regularly participated in audit exercises and that nothing suspicious had been detected.
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, meanwhile, approached the Uttar Pradesh government seeking a detailed and impartial investigation. The trust alleged that rumours and misinformation were being spread on social media to tarnish the image of the Ram Temple and hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees.
Acting on the request, the Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13. The SIT comprises Lucknow Divisional Commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant, Inspector General of Police Kiran S, and Finance Department Special Secretary Neel Ratan.
As the row escalated, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath appealed for restraint while the investigation is underway. Expressing confidence in the SIT, he said the probe would uncover the "absolute truth" and urged people not to make baseless statements that could hurt the sentiments of devotees. The chief minister also encouraged anyone possessing evidence related to the allegations to submit it to the SIT and warned that no guilty person would be spared, irrespective of position or status.
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