Total cost of Ram Temple project estimated to be Rs 1,100 cr: Trust treasurer

The total cost involved for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya will be around Rs 1,100 crore, a treasurer of  Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust said at a press conference in Nagpur on Monday.

Swami Govind Dev Giriji Maharaj, the treasurer, has expected that the full construction of the temple is expected to be completed in three-and-a-half years.

According to Giriji Maharaj, the cost of construction of the main Ram Temple is estimated at Rs 300 crore to Rs 400 crore, while the entire premises will "cost not less than Rs 1,100 crore".

Currently, structural experts and engineers are drawing up plans for the foundation of the temple. The experts are from IITs at Bombay, Delhi, Madras, Guwahati, Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, and special engineers from L&T and Tata groups, who are drawing up a plan for a strong foundation of the complex, Giriji Maharaj said.

"Options given for the foundation of the temple will be discussed at tomorrow's meeting (of the trust) (and final selection will be done)," he said.

The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which has been set up by the Centre, has received more than Rs 100 crore worth of donations online till now. The trust has announced the launch of a mass contact and fund contribution campaign for the construction of Ram temple.

Workers of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) will be visiting 18,000-odd villages across Gujarat from January 15 to collect funds from the people for the construction of Ayodhya's Ram temple. Besides, the VHP will also rope in over five lakh volunteers to start a door-to-door fundraising drive in Karnataka from January 15 to February 27 next year for the temple.

VHP joint general secretary Surendra Jain said his organisation will deploy some 40 lakh volunteers across the country to contact "65 crore Hindus living in 5.23 lakh villages" as part of the fund collection exercise.

These donations will be exempted under 80G of the Income Tax Act,  VHP's international working president Alok Kumar said. In August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The three-storey stone structure with an estimated life of 1,000 years will be built without using cement and iron rods.

Last year on November 9, the Supreme Court of India settled the fractious issue going back more than a century and backed the construction of a Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site. It also ruled that an alternative five-acre plot must be for a mosque in the Hindu holy town.

Also read: RBI working paper defends 4% inflation target for India

Also read: Rebooting Economy 54: Will bypassing APMC-based procurement improve farmers' income, ensure food security?