Arrangements should be made for online darshan of temples, except the sanctum sanctorum and facilitating prayers through audio for those interested in online darshan of the temples. Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said this while chairing the first meeting of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devsthanam Management Board here on Friday. It was also decided in the meeting that the properties and funds of temples would be transferred to the board.
Rawat said that Uttarakhand is a centre of spirituality in the world with the ancient architecture of its temples being one of its specialties. Maintaining the ancient form of the temples must be ensured to maintain the spiritual heritage and identity.
While directing officials to facilitate online darshan of temples for interested devotees, the chief minister stressed that religious beliefs should also be taken cognisance of in this process.
He reiterated that the traditional rights of all will be taken care of in the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devsthanam Management Board. The scope for constructing a museum for preservation of important manuscripts and other historically important material related to temples was also discussed in the meeting.
It was decided in the meeting that to ensure inter-departmental coordination for facilitating pilgrimage, a high level committee will be formed under the chief secretary. The board’s chief executive officer has been authorised for transferring the property of temples, funds and precious items to bring it under the management of the board. The district magistrates concerned will do the needful for this purpose. The board will also have its separate bank account. For this, the state government approved a sum of Rs 10 crore. The remaining amount of the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee will also be transferred to the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devsthanam Management Board. The personnel of the BKTC will also be adjusted in the board. An additional CEO will be appointed to the board while the post of a finance controller will also be created. Further, a tribunal will also be formed for various judicial matters in the board. The Uttarakhand Char Dham Devsthanam Management Board CEO Ravinath Raman also presented a cheque for Rs five lakh comprising one day’s salary of the BKTC personnel for relief works in view of Covid-19.
The board’s vice chairman and Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj announced that Rs five lakh will be contributed through the Manav Utthan Seva Samiti. He also made various suggestions in the meeting.
