New Delhi: The home ministry has granted the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) approval to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra, a trust set up for building and managing the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, so that it can receive contributions from foreign sources for the construction of the temple.
The trust had applied for an FCRA licence in June this year. FCRA is the law that regulates foreign contributions to Indian entities and their subsidiaries.
However, such contributions can only be sent to a designated bank account of the trust in the SBI’s main branch located in Delhi.
Taking to micro-blogging site X, the trust said, "FCRA section of The Ministry of Home Affairs (Govt of India) has registered the trust 'Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra' to accept the voluntary contribution from the foreign sources. Such contributions can be sent to only designated bank account. No such contribution shall be accepted in any branch or any other bank account of the trust."
In a media statement issued separately, the trust's general secretary Champat Rai said, “The FCRA section of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Government of India, has registered the trust ‘Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ to accept the voluntary contribution from the foreign sources.” “Kindly note that such contributions can be sent to only designated bank account …of the state Bank of India, Main Branch, situated at 11 Sansad Marg, New Delhi,” he said.
The construction of the ground floor of the three-storey Ram temple in Ayodhya will be completed by December-end and the consecration ceremony is expected to take place on January 22, temple Construction Committee Chairperson Nripendra Mishra recently told PTI in an interview.
Mishra had also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to take part in an event related to the ‘pran pratishtha’ on any day between January 20 and 24. The final date is yet to be communicated by the Prime Minister’s Office, he said.