Uttarakhand Government withdraws takeover of ‘Char Dham’ and 51 other temples, Devasthanam Management Board dissolved

Editorial Comments

• This is a very good example which shows that if Hindus oppose collectively and persistently, the Government has to give in.
• To release all the temples under Government control, priests, religious organisations and devout Hindus all over the country should agitate collectively and oppose such control.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) – The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019, was passed by the Assembly and became the ‘Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019’. The priests had alleged that they were kept in dark about the law. and the step was taken to sideline them and take full control over the temples.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister @pushkardhami announces his government has decided to repeal the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Management Act#CharDhamDevasthanam @AditiAnarayanan @kabir_naqvi pic.twitter.com/1CBZAbIVNr

— India Ahead News (@IndiaAheadNews) November 30, 2021

1. Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat had established the ‘Char Dham Devasthanam Board’ on the model of the ‘Shrine Board’ in 2019.
2. The related Bill was passed then in the Uttarakhand Assembly and some Acts too were framed later. Since then, all priests associated with these Char Dham and 51 temples were consistently opposing the move; however, the Government had been refusing to dissolve the Board. The Government argued that the Char Dham Devasthanam Board would help in providing facilities to devotees who visit temples and in overall development.
3. When Trivendra Singh Rawat was substituted by Tirath Singh Rawat, he had assured to dissolve the Board; but before he could have tried to do so, he had to resign.
4. Thereafter, Pushkar Singh Dhami became the Chief Minister. He announced that a High-level Committee would be formed and he did it under the leadership of ex-MP Manohar Kant Dhyani. Priests of Char Dham were included in the Committee. This Committee submitted its final report after studying the matter seriously. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh took the decision based on this report.
5. Pushkar Singh Dhami announced that Char Dham in the State (Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri) and 51 temples under Government control are now being released from control. ‘Char Dham Devasthanam Board’ which was established after taking over the temples stands dissolved.

A historical decision : Mahant Ravindra Puri

“The State Government has taken a historical decision of dissolving the Devasthanam Board. Therefore, Sages along with the priests of these temples are very happy”, expressed Mahant Ravindra Puri (President of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad).