The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust on Wednesday named Air Marshal (retd) Jeetendra Mishra as its first full-time chief executive officer (CEO) of the Ram temple, from a shortlist of three candidates picked from 5,585 applications by a high-powered committee, sources said.
The appointments came amid a raging controversy over the alleged embezzlement of temple donations that led to the arrest of eight people and the resignation of Champat Rai as general secretary in June. The appointment of a professional CEO is one of the ways in which the temple trust hopes to regain the confidence of people. The decision was taken at a meeting that was attended by Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, Swami Kamalnayan Das, interim general secretary Dr Krishna Mohan, trustee Mahant Dinendra Das and treasurer Swami Govind Dev Giri among others.
Nripendra Mishra, chairman of the Ram Mandir Construction Committee, had earlier stressed that a full-time CEO was critical to bring professional administration and transparency to the world’s most watched temple project.
The CEO will have the responsibility to develop systems, procedures, and operational practices appropriate to the nature and scale of the organization, build and strengthen the organisational structure in accordance with the objectives, nature, and size of the institution, according to the Trust.
