Uttarakhand / U'khand CM repeals Char Dham Devasthanam Board Management Act

Dehradun: Ahead of the Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the Pushkar Singh Dhami government Tuesday announced the withdrawal of the controversial Char Dham Devasthanam Board Bill. The Chief Minister made the announcement while speaking to news agency ANI in Dehradun.

The state government had tabled the Uttarakhand Char Dham Shrine Management Bill, 2019, in the state Assembly in December 2019 amid protests within and outside the Vidhan Sabha.

CM Dhami tweeted. “Considering the sentiments and interests of people, honour of priests and stakeholders and others associated with Char Dham and on the basis of the report of a high-level committee constituted under Manohar Kant Dhyani, the government has decided to repeal Devasthanam Board Act.”

The Bill was aimed at bringing the Char Dham of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri and 49 other temples under the purview of a proposed shrine board. It was passed in the Assembly in December 2019, and became the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019. Under the same Act, the BJP government led by then CM Trivendra Singh Rawat constituted the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Board on January 15, 2020.

Priests of Char Dhams and other stakeholders resorted to protests in support of the board’s disbanding.

The Opposition Congress had extended support to those priests and pandas who were protesting the formation of the Devasthanam board. The Congress had called the BJP government ‘dharma virodhi’. People holding different responsibilities in the Char Dham temples came under the banner of the Char Dham Mahapanchayat Hakukdhari to raise voice against the Bill. Pandas, Dimris and others who run dharamshalas and shops at the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines had staged protests in Dehradun.

Earlier this year, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami government constituted a high-level committee to review the constitution of the board. Committee chairperson Manohar Kant Dhyani submitted his final report to the CM on Sunday. The next day, Minister for Religious Affairs Satpal Maharaj submitted a report of the cabinet sub-committee on the same board to the Chief Minister.

Under this board, at present there are 53 temples, including four shrines – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri – and other temples located around these shrines. The shrine board is the highest governing body for the management of the temples with powers to frame policies, make decisions to give effect to the provisions of this Act, of budget formulation and to sanction expenditure, among others. The board may also give directions for the safe custody, prevention and management of funds, valuable securities, jewellery and properties vested in the temples.

In the meeting of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) kendriya margdarshak mandal in Haridwar earlier this year, the priests had repeatedly demanded from then CM Tirath Singh Rawat, who was present at the meeting, to immediately announce the abolition of the board. Rawat had assured to “review” the board.