Ayodhya panel gives nod for mosque construction
In its verdict in November 2019, the apex court ordered the allotment of five acres to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board in Ayodhya district. Following this, the Ayodhya administration allotted a five-acre plot in Dhannipur village under Sohawal Tahsil - around 25 km away from Ayodhya town.
3 min read
THE AYODHYA Development Authority (ADA) has given its approval for the proposed mosque in Ayodhya to be built in Dhannipur village as per the directives of the Supreme Court, which had said five acres should be given to the Dhannipur mosque at an alternate site for the construction of a mosque.
In its verdict in November 2019, the apex court ordered the allotment of five acres to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board in Ayodhya district. Following this, the Ayodhya administration allotted a five-acre plot in Dhannipur village under Sohawal Tahsil – around 25 km away from Ayodhya town.
ADA secretary Satyendra Singh said on Saturday, “The ADA Board has given them permission to start construction at the site.” The decision was taken at a Board meeting on Friday.
The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation (IICF) was set up by the UP Sunni Waqf Board in July 2020 for building a mosque in Dhannipur.
The IICF is supposed to build the mosque and community facilities, including a hospital, a community kitchen and an Indo-Islamic cultural research centre which will include an archive/museum on the five-acre plot at Dhannipur. According to the Foundation, the entire project is likely to cost around Rs 110 crore, including Rs 100 crore for the hospital.
ADA secretary Satyendra Singh added, “The land was given to the Sunni Waqf Board on orders from the Supreme Court in Dhannipur village of Ayodhya district under the Sohawal Tehsil. The IICF wants to build several structures on the land such as a mosque, museum, library, etc. The UP government gave the ADA an order, saying that the land use of the given land can be converted in a Board meeting of the ADA. Following the orders, the land use has been approved and the IICF has been told to complete further formalities. They have most of the no-objection certificates (NOCs). The IICF has been told to submit a map for the structure and that it will be passed by the ADA.”
“In an official order, the government had told the ADA Board should permit the use of land for which it was given to them (Sunni Waqf Board). We have told them to submit the proposed maps for the structures through online mode, and once that is done, we will approve the map,” said Singh.
IICF secretary Athar Hussain said, “The officials have conveyed to us that we need to submit the maps online. We will be doing that very soon after holding a meeting with our architect, Professor S M Akhtar. After the month of Ramzan which ends in April, we will hold a meeting of all the trustees, and take the project forward.”
An official at the IICF said a total of Rs 50 lakh has so far been collected in donations for the project. “We will collect more donations in future for the project, which is likely to cost more than Rs 100 crore,” said the official.
You May Like
