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Earlier in the day, he met saints at Haridwar to take stock of the Kumbha preparation.
“There will be a review of the decision of formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Board. State government’s management over 51 temples will be removed,” Rawat told media persons after his meeting with the saints in Haridwar.
The Devasthanam Board, which came into existence through an Act of the assembly about a year ago during the tenure of then CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, controls the management of temples and shrines, including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri.
Teerth purohits (pilgrimage priests) have been opposing the formation of the board, which is headed by the CM and whose members include several ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats.
Vinod Shukla, president of the Kedar Sabha, said he welcomed the announcement of the CM and that he was now waiting for the government order in this regard.
Ahead of the coming 2022 assembly polls, Rawat’s announcement to free the 51 temples from state government’s control is politically significant. In the meantime, the BJP made a poll promise to free the temples from government control in Tamil Nadu.
The teerth purohits did not get any relief from the high court and have already moved the Supreme Court. Earlier, a public interest litigation, filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swami challenging the validity of the Uttarakhand Chardham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019, was dismissed by the Uttarakhand High Court a few months ago.
On March 14, a delegation of teerth purohits met the state’s new CM. Rawat assured them that he would soon call them and discuss the issue.
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