Donations from all faiths to be accepted for Ram temple construction: Trust member

Donations for building the Ram temple at Ayodhya would be accepted from all communities, and not from Hindus only, a member of the Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust mandated by the central government to oversee its construction said on Sunday.

Vishwaprasanna Teertha Swami, head of Udupi-based Pejawar Mutt in Karnataka, who attended a recent virtual meeting of the trust, said it was suggested a sum of Rs ten per head be collected and Rs 100 from household as part of the resource mobilisation efforts.

"It's just a suggestion, it's not like tax. It's kind of a road-map for people who are desirous of participating in the construction of the Mandir," the seer told PTI.

"We will accept donations from whoever has devotion towards and faith in Lord Ram," he said when asked if contributions would be accepted from all communities and not limited to Hindus only.

Whoever has devotion and respect towards and faith in Lord Ram... there is nothing like they should be from this community... or they should not be from this community...

thats left for them, the Pejawar Swamiji said.

He also said Rs ten per head and Rs 100 per household is a suggested contribution, adding, the trust would accept any amount it could be Re one or Rs one crore.

The trust proposed to raise additional financial requirements from corporate social responsibility funds of companies, he added.

According to him, the temple construction, the ground- breaking ceremony for which is slated for next week, would cost an estimated Rs 300 crore, and another sum of around Rs 1,000 crore would be required for development of surrounding areas for temple-related activities.

An extensive month-long funds mobilisation campaign would be held from around November 25, the pontiff added.