A department fit for the gods — till it isn't. Another UP temple story
The Department of Religious Affairs in Uttar Pradesh has grabbed the spotlight after Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday said that temples must be protected from 'administrative corruption' and accused the Yogi Adityanath government of 'indirectly taking control (of them) under the garb of better administration'.
Akhilesh's comments came after the Adityanath-led BJP government constituted a trust on Tuesday to manage the administration of the Banke Bihari temple as a part of its plans to redevelop the Banke Bihari corridor between Mathura and Vrindavan. 'Through the excuse of management, the BJP and its associates are gradually taking indirect control of prominent temples. Those who have been traditionally managing these temples for centuries with devotion are being stripped of their rights and are being unfairly accused of being incapable or mismanaging temple affairs,' the SP chief said in a post on X.
Officially christened 'Dharmarth Karya Vibhag' and mandated to develop religious institutions and temples, the department came into existence on December 19, 1985, under the Vir Bahadur Singh-led Congress government.
According to the website of the Department of Religious Affairs, all temples and religious places of the state fall under it, and its objective is to provide basic facilities like route management, accommodation, lighting, drinking water and food to the visiting devotees.
The department was seen as 'defunct' and a hub of 'officials sent on punishment posting' till Akhilesh, during his tenure as CM between 2012 and 2017, 'revived' it with announcements like Rs 50,000 for devotees taking up the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and Rs 10,000 for the Sindhu Darshan Yatra.
It has further gained prominence since Adityanath assumed power in 2017, and especially after it tied up with the Tourism Department to promote the BJP government's vision of developing Uttar Pradesh into a hub of 'religious tourism'.
In 2018, barely a year after coming to power, Adityanath established the 'Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad', headed by retired IPS officer Shailja Kant Mishra, to develop temples and pilgrimage sites of the region.
Under Adityanath's direct supervision, over the past five years, the department has set up six more such 'parishads' for Ayodhya Dham, Vindhyavhal Dham in Mirzapur, Shukarteerath in Muzaffarnagar, Chitrakoot Dham, Devipatan Dham in Gonda district and Naimisharanya Dham in Sitapur. While the other 'parishads' are yet to see the light of day, the Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad is fully operational.
The Adityanath government had also increased the assistance for pilgrims undertaking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and Sindhu Darshan Yatra to Rs 1 lakh and Rs 20,000 respectively.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Kashi Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi on February 14, 2022, the Adityanath regime shifted its focus to the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan.
However, the government's move to use temple funds to acquire five acres for a project similar to the Kashi Vishwanath corridor ran into legal trouble after the temple's sevak (priest) approached the Allahabad High Court against it. The court last year passed an order denying permission to the government to use temple funds for the project.
The government then moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order. Earlier this month, the top court gave its go-ahead for the project. The government later passed an ordinance to establish the Shri Banke Bihari Ji Mandir Nyas Trust, which was cleared by Governor Anandiben Patel on Tuesday. According to a senior official, the trust will now be responsible for the development, security and administration of the religious site while the 'Goswamis' will continue with their traditional duties of performing rituals. The temple has sought a review of the Supreme Court order.
A BJP leader said that the Banke Bihari corridor would be implemented on the lines of the Kashi Vishwanath project. 'People whose lands are acquired will be adequately compensated like it was done during the Kashi Vishwanath corridor. There will be no issues whatsoever,' the leader said on the condition of anonymity.
Incidentally, Akhilesh as CM had cleared a similar proposal by the Department of Religious Affairs to manage the Banke Bihari temple as well as the Vindhyavasini temple. The proposal was scrapped after SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav intervened.
'There are seven other temples in Mathura where management issues have been pending for decades and are currently being managed by administrative or judicial officers,' a senior official told The Indian Express.
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