Ram Mandir trust reveals ₹3,264 crore spent; silver donations melted, ornaments on display

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has disclosed that ₹3,264 crore has been spent on the Ram Mandir complex in Ayodhya, offering a rare detailed look into the finances of the project that has been at the centre of Indian public life for decades. The trust also revealed that silver items donated by devotees were melted and repurposed, a disclosure that is likely to prompt discussion among the temple's vast base of contributors.

Among the items put on public display was a Ramcharitmanas manuscript reportedly valued at ₹5 crore, alongside other ornaments from the temple complex. The financial transparency exercise comes as the trust seeks to address questions about how the substantial donations received from across India and the diaspora have been deployed.

The disclosures coincide with significant organisational change at the trust: Champat Rai and Anil Mishra, two prominent figures closely associated with the Ram Mandir movement, have had their resignations accepted. The trust did not immediately detail the reasons for their departures, but the exits of figures so identified with the decades-long campaign to build the temple mark a notable transition in the institution's leadership.

The Ram Mandir, consecrated in January 2024 in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has received donations from millions of Indians. The scale of spending disclosed — ₹3,264 crore — and the questions around how donated materials like silver have been used will likely be scrutinised closely by devotees, auditors, and political commentators alike.