Char Dham law junked, shrines back in priests’ control

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government on Tuesday announced repealing of the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Act, which had brought over 50 temples, including Char Dham shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath, under state control. The Act, which had led to constitution of Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board, on lines of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, headed by an IAS officer, was opposed by priests of the Char Dham shrines as they claimed it would deprive them of their “centuries-old rights of administering temples.”
Speaking about the move to repeal the Act, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said, “The decision has been taken on the basis of reports of two committees formed by us, whose members spoke to stakeholders and recommended the law be repealed. Social organisations, priests and several sections of the society were consulted. In the future, if we do decide to take a call on the issue, we will make sure everyone’s opinion is taken into account.”
The Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Bill had been mooted by ex-CM Trivendra Singh Rawat. The board was mandated to be responsible for management of funds received by the temples, take decisions related to pilgrimages and carry out developmental works in and around the four Char Dham shrines. Bureaucrats and public representatives were made members of the board while teerth purohits (priests) claimed they were not made part of the process.
Soon after it was formed, protests, led by priests and opposition Congress, started across the state.