There has been uproar over alleged scam in the land purchase of the grand Ram temple being built in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Constant questions are being asked by Opposition parties to the temple trust and the government. Meanwhile, the person whose name has come up again and again in the whole episode has been that of property dealer Sultan Ansari. The Daily Guardian spoke to Sultan Ansari regarding the entire controversy.
Explaining the entire land dispute, Sultan Ansari said that on 4 March 2011, when its first agreement was made, the rate was Rs 1 crore. According to Sultan, the agreement was renewed in 2014; when the agreement was made in his name in 2019, the rate had reached Rs 2 crore.
Regarding Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, Sultan Ansari said: “In March, the Trust came in contact with us and there were many rounds of talks about the land”. According to Ansari, he talked to Champat Rai and other members of the Trust and finally the deal was settled for Rs 18.5 crore. Nothing was said by the Trust on the rate, as prices had increased.
On allegations of the value increasing by crores in just 10 minutes, Ansari said that no deal has been done in a few minutes, and all such charges are nonsense. The land that the Trust has taken, it has been taken only for less money. According to Sultan Ansari, at that time, the cost of the land was around Rs 24.5 crore. “Since we live next to the Ram temple, believe in Ram, and have been donating, so when it came to religion, we sold the land to the Trust under Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb for less money”.
Meanwhile, the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust on Tuesday issued a statement on the purchase deal and the details of the agreement. In its statement, the Trust said that nine individuals were involved in the deal and negotiations were done with their consent to complete the agreement in a transparent manner. It added that the Trust had decided that all financial dealings will be conducted through banking channels and dealings are “on record”.
The Trust further said that it has already purchased 3-4 plots, including temples and ashrams, adding that for each purchased temple /ashram/ private property, “a piece of land of their own choice to be provided for rehabilitation and sufficient funds to be given for constructing their buildings”.
Outlining the detailed history of agreements on the land deal, the Trust stated that on March 18, Ravi Mohan Tiwari and Sultan Ansari had bought the land registered with numbers 243, 244 and 246 by a sale deed for an amount of Rs 2 crore, with “valuation at circle rate Rs 5.80 crore and stamp for Rs 5.80 crore valuation”. The statement added that Tiwari and Ansari entered into an agreement on the same day to sell this land to the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust. “Consideration amount agreed was Rs 18.50 crores Payment of Rs 17 crore was made as advance by online transaction,” it further stated.