According to Champat Rai, general secretary of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, the idol of Lord Rama would be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the Grand Rama temple in Ayodhya around January 14, 2024.
He stated that the grand temple’s ground level, which is currently under construction, will be completed by the end of next year, or in December 2023.
“The Ram Mandir Construction Committee’s meeting has concluded. The ground floor of the temple (Ram Mandir) will be ready by December 2023 and after 15 days, i.e., around January 14, 2024, the idol of Lord Ram will be installed in the temple,” said Rai.
Earlier, in the meeting of the Ram Mandir Trust held in Ayodhya’s Circuit House, discussions focused primarily on three issues. One of them was the temple’s building cost, which was determined to be Rs 1,800 crore after an 18-month evaluation.
The price, which was originally estimated to be Rs 400 crore, was revised.
“Meeting of Shri Ram Janamabhoomi trust was held. We discussed the construction expenses of the Ram temple and it was estimated to be Rs 1,800 crore, which could be changed later. The rules of the trust and other statues to be installed in the temple were discussed too,” said Rai.
When the construction of the temple started, the cost of it was not able to be decided. After consideration, it came to light that its cost may come to Rs 400 crore. But when it was considered further, the cost kept changing. The discussions were on for 18 months and it came to the fore that its cost could come to around Rs 1,800 crore, which could be changed later. Discussions were held on the rules and regulations to be followed in the trust. The rules were ultimately finalised,” he added.
The Building Construction Committee meets once a month.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, laid the cornerstone for the construction of the Rama Temple’s “Garbha Griha,” or sanctum sanctorum, in June of this year.
Fast-moving construction is being done on the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya. The foundation stone for the Ram temple was placed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5, 2020, and since then, work on the building has continued.
Ram Lalla owns the land in Ayodhya where the Babri Masjid once stood, according to a unanimous decision made on November 9 by the five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, which was chaired by the now-retired Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi.