Ayodhya: The Ayodhya Development Authority has rejected a plan for constructing a mosque in Dhannipur village, citing the lack of mandatory no-objection certificates from several Uttar Pradesh government departments, PTI reported, quoting a reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query.
The mosque is to be built in line with the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute delivered on November 9, 2019. The court had directed the government to acquire five acres of land for the mosque and ruled that the disputed site in Ayodhya be handed over to a government-run trust for the construction of a Ram temple.
The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was demolished on December 6, 1992, by Hindu extremists who claimed that an ancient Ram temple once stood at the site. The Ram temple was inaugurated in January 2024 in a ceremony led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A parcel of land in Dhannipur village, located in Sohawal tehsil about 25 km from Ayodhya town, was allotted to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for the mosque’s construction. The project was initially expected to begin in 2021.
According to the RTI response received by journalist Om Prakash Singh, the mosque trust’s application, submitted on June 23, 2021, was rejected because clearances had not been obtained from departments including public works, pollution control, civil aviation, irrigation, revenue, municipal corporation, and fire services. The development authority’s rejection letter is dated September 16, PTI reported.
The RTI reply also stated that the mosque trust had deposited around Rs 4 lakh as application and scrutiny fees for the project.
Athar Husain, secretary of the mosque trust, said the trust had not received any official communication regarding the rejection, according to The Times of India.
“The Supreme Court has mandated the land for the mosque, and the Uttar Pradesh government allotted the plot,” Husain said. “I am speechless why the government departments have not issued no-objection certificates and why the authority has rejected the mosque’s plan.”
He added that during a site inspection, the fire department had noted that the approach road to the mosque should be at least 12 metres wide, whereas the road at the site is only six metres wide and narrows to four metres at the main approach.
“Apart from the fire department’s objection, I have no idea about the objections of other departments,” he added.