Ayodhya (UP): The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust will select the first CEO of the Ram temple on Wednesday, September 2, from a likely shortlist of three during a meeting that may also announce the panel’s two members and general secretary after reviewing 5,585 applications, sources said.
The meeting follows the controversy over the alleged theft of offerings and the resignation of Champat Rai, former general secretary of the temple trust, and it will be held at the residence of Nritya Gopal Das, the Ram Mandir Trust president, in Maniramdas Chhawani.
Selection committee submits three names
The selection committee is likely to submit three shortlisted names to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust for the trust’s first CEO, they said.
Selection committee officials, retired Justice Pramod Kohli, retired Lieutenant General Vishnukant Chaturvedi, and expert member Suresh Hawde, have reached Ayodhya.
The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, in a post on X in Hindi, said, “The comprehensive, transparent, and technology-enabled process for selecting the Chief Executive Officer of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra has been completed.”
“After reviewing 5,585 applications, the selection committee held detailed discussions with 16 candidates. Today, (Tuesday) the committee submitted the final panel of three highly qualified candidates to the Trust, which will make the final decision and official announcement,” it said.
Three vacant posts were created after the death of trust member Vimalendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, the alleged theft of offerings and the resignations of former general secretary of the temple trust Champat Rai and member Anil Mishra.
Meeting to begin at 2 pm
Sources said the temple trust will also officially announce the Trust’s secretary in a meeting likely to begin at 2 pm on Wednesday. Jagdish Aafle will be the temple trust’s first secretary.
Aafle, who is from Maharashtra, is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and manages the Ram temple construction project. A resident of Pune, Aafle holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering and an MTech from IIT Bombay.
He reportedly worked in India, Europe and the United States before returning to India after retirement.
According to sources, Aafle joined the Ram Mandir construction project as an honorary project manager on the RSS recommendation. He has since been living with his wife at the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra premises in Ayodhya.
Sources said VHP international general secretary Bajrang Lal Bangda may also be included in the trust.
When asked whether the new CEO would be named on Wednesday, temple trust treasurer Govind Dev Giri said, “It is up to the trust to decide. I expect it to happen, but the Board of Trustees will decide whether to do it or not.”
“We sought this guidance (from a three-member selection panel) because we were in search of an excellent CEO to ensure the superior management of such a big, world-renowned temple,” Giri said, adding that the panel went through approximately 5,500 applications, and finally, conducted interviews with 16 individuals.
Selection process
Justice (retired) Pramod Kohli, who headed the three-member CEO selection team for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, on Tuesday expressed confidence that the panel they selected is the “best”, “has a vision”, and “understands issues”.
Regarding the selection process, Justice Kohli told reporters in Ayodhya, “We can say with confidence that this selection process was entirely transparent and fair. The trust will now decide which of these three individuals will serve as the CEO.”
He said, “The trust made its decision on July 6, and we received the letter appointing the three of us as members of the search committee on July 8. We held our first meeting on July 11, during which we made certain decisions.”
Justice Kohli said the Trust decided the eligibility criteria for the CEO position, and applications were invited from individuals meeting the eligibility requirements, with July 18 as the deadline. “Between July 11 and 18, we received 5,585 applications,” he said.
Referring to the work undertaken by the selection team, he said scrutinising those applications was a massive task. “So, we held a meeting on July 19 and created a Google Form featuring different categories and assigning 600 marks based on eligibility criteria. It was sent to 3,577 people. Upon further categorisation, 108 individuals fell into that specific category and scored 470 marks or higher. We conducted virtual interactions via video conferencing with these 108 individuals, a process that spanned about four days,” he said. From that group, seventeen people were shortlisted and categorised into Grade A, Grade B, and Grade C based on their performance and their approach, he said.
“Based on the marks allocated for various attributes, we formed a three-member panel comprising individuals we consider the best, the people who are devoted and willing to work, possess a clear vision, and understand the issues at hand. That was the kind of person we tried to select,” he said.
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