Budget Crunch Brings Down Estimated Cost of Building Mosque in Ayodhya as Per 2019 SC Verdict to Rs 3 Cr From Rs 300 Cr

New Delhi: Owing to “fund crunch”, the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation has substantially cut down on its estimated budget for its plan to build a grand mosque at Dhannipur in Ayodhya – as judicial compensation for the loss of the Babri mosque – as per the 2019 Ayodhya verdict of the Supreme Court, reported Deccan Herald, citing sources.

While the Foundation had estimated an expenditure of around Rs 300 crore for the project, it has received donations worth only Rs 1.5 crore so far. While the original plan included also the construction of a hospital, a library, a community kitchen and other public facilities, due to scarcity of funds, the Foundation has been forced to drastically reduce the size of the mosque and also shelve plans to build a hospital and other facilities, added the Deccan Herald report.

The Foundation’s new estimated budget for the mosque was Rs 3 crore, reported DH, citing sources.

Last year, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) had rejected the plan submitted for the construction of the proposed mosque in Dhannipur village of Sohawal tehsil, around 25 km from Ayodhya town.

Back in 2019, as part of the Ayodhya verdict, the Supreme Court had mandated the allotment of five acres of land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for constructing a mosque and related facilities at a prominent location in Ayodhya. The Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust was formed for the construction of the mosque.

Then Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha had transferred possession of the land located in Dhannipur on August 3, 2020.

However, the construction work hasn’t yet started, one of the reasons for it being the ADA’s rejection of the map of the proposed mosque.

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