LUCKNOW: The Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has appointed IIT-Bombay alumnus Jagdish Aphale as its secretary, marking the first step towards streamlining the overall operations of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Aphale has also been introduced as the second signatory authorised to carry out business with banks and financial institutions. Temple Trust interim general secretary Krishna Mohan confirmed Aphale’s appointment, saying he had been appointed as the Trust’s secretary and joint signatory. The resolutions regarding the move were approved by other Trust members.
According to Trust sources, Aphale will assist the board of trustees as an external expert. Having volunteered as a project engineer, Aphale has been supervising the construction work of the temple, which has been ongoing within the 70-acre temple complex for the past five years.
He has been observing the internal functioning of the temple for the last couple of weeks.
The sources claimed that Aphale’s name came up during the July 6 meeting of the board of the Temple Trust after the resignations of former general secretary Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra were accepted.
In his response, Krishna Mohan said that for banking purposes, he and Aphale would be the joint signatories.
As per the temple Trust deed that governs its working, the bank accounts of the Trust have to be operated by two individuals designated for the said purpose by the board of trustees.
The three public sector banks — State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda — were hesitant to accept Aphale as a co-operator of the accounts without necessitating changes in the Trust’s constitution.
As a result, there was some delay in the disbursement of funds to the agencies engaged for managing the operations of the Trust, resulting in delayed salary payments to workers.
The Trust overseeing the Ram Temple is in the middle of restructuring its overall operations in the wake of the embezzlement of donation funds of the temple.
In a few weeks, the temple Trust is set to get a chief executive officer (CEO), along with managers and professional executives, to manage different activities and services and assist the board of trustees in day-to-day operations.
The next meeting of the Trust is scheduled for September 2, 2026.
