Dehradun Nov 30 PTIThe Uttarakhand government on Tuesday decided to scrap the Chardham Devasthanam BoardAfter studying all aspects of the issue we have decided to withdraw the Chardham Devasthanam Board Act Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami saidChardham priests had been demanding scrapping of the board ever since its creation in 2019 saying it was an infringement of their traditional rights over the templesA high-level committee constituted by Dhami to look into the Devasthanam Board issue had submitted its recommendations to the chief minister in Rishikesh on Sunday We went through the details of the report submitted by the panel headed by Manohar Kant Dhyani After considering all aspects of the issue our government has decided to withdraw the Act Dhami saidConstituted during the tenure of former chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat the Chardham Devasthanam Board managed the affairs of51 temples across the state including the famous Himalayan temples of Kedarnath Badrinath Gangotri and Yamunotri PTI ALM RHL
Dehradun Oct 26 PTI Former chief minister Harish Rawat Tuesday offered prayers at Kedarnath and promised the teerth-purohits at the Himalayan temple he will dissolve the Chardham Devasthanam Board if elected to powerHis forehead smeared with sandalwood paste and a trident in hand Rawat also danced next to an ascetic with long tresses to the chants of Shiv tandav stotram outside the templeThe Congress leader later posted several videos of his visit to Kedarnath on his Facebook pageTalking to reporters in Kedarnath Rawat said most of the reconstruction works done in Kedarpuri had been initiated during his tenure as the chief ministerHowever the present government has made superficial changes in the works to put its own stamp on them and pass them off as its own he saidWhen asked about his priorities if elected to power again Rawat said he would first take up his unfinished work and ensure that the traditional rights of hak-hakookdharis and priests remain intactTo a question on whether he would dissolve the Devasthanam Board he said From our side it stands dissolved The teerth-purohits standing next to Rawat greeted his announcement with loud cheers shouting slogans like Harish Rawat tum sangharsh karo hum tumhare saath hain Harish Rawat you lead the fight we are with youTeerth-purohits have been agitating against the board ever since it came into existence during Trivendra Singh Rawats tenure They feel it was an encroachment upon their traditional rights over the temple Prompted by their prolonged agitation against the board Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had to set up a committee headed by Manohar Kant Dhyani to look into the issue and submit a reportThe panel spoke to all stakeholders and submitted its report to the state government on MondayHowever the recommendations of the committee have not been made public PTI ALM TIR TIR
Dehradun Oct 25 PTI The state government constituted high-level committee on Devasthanam Board submitted its interim report to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on MondayHead of the Committee Manohar Kant Dhyani called on the chief minister to submit the report However nothing was made public on the recommendations of the panelThe committee headed by Dhyani was constituted by Dhami a few months ago in view of a prolonged agitation by the teerth-purohits of Badrinath Kedarnath Gangotri and Yamunotri demanding dissolution of the board which they felt was an infringement on their traditional rights over the templesConstituted through a legislation during Trivendra Singh Rawats chief ministership the Devasthanam Boardis entrusted with the management of 51 temples in the stare including the famous Himalayan shrines PTI ALM RHL
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