NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh govt Tuesday agreed with the Supreme Court’s proposal for appointment of an interim committee headed by a retired high court judge for management of Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan till Allahabad HC decides the legality of the state’s ordinance designed to take over the shrine to facilitate development of a temple corridor and provision of pilgrim facilities.Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj informed a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, “UP has no objection to formation of an interim management committee headed by a retired HC judge, to be appointed by SC, which will manage administration of the temple, have access to funds of the temple, to start building the corridor. The state is committed to providing finances for the same, in partnership with the temple administration, as was done in the case of Kashi Vishwanath temple.“However, govt stressed, “The retired judge may be one who is a Sanatani Hindu belonging to Vaishnav sect, so that religious sentiments of devotees of Shri Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj are upheld.”It proposed that the committee may include the Mathura DM; the SSP; the Munsif Mathura who has been managing the temple’s affairs since July 2016 on HC orders; municipal commissioner Mathura; vice-chairman of Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority; principal secretary of Dharmarth Karya department and an official from ASI.The Goswamis, who claim hereditary control over management and rituals of the ‘private’ temple and have challenged validity of the ordinance, have found no place in the state-proposed committee. Their counsel Kapil Sibal told the bench that he would file objections to this, and SC gave him time till Friday. The state repudiated their claim over the temple and surrounding land. It said, “The land on which the temple is situated, as per revenue records, belongs to Govind Deo temple... The dire situation at temple requires immediate action to be taken to develop the area.”
