Exclusive: NOC for mosque construction in limbo while Ram Temple works speed up

Amid construction work for the Ram Janmbhoomi temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya steadily progressing, a spokesperson for the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation said on Saturday that so far, no NOCs had been issued by various departments of the Uttar Pradesh government to start the construction of a mosque, set to be built in Dhannipur village in the district.

Ayodhya: Days after Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Trust officials in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya said the construction of the Ram temple was 40 percent complete, a spokesperson of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation on Saturday told ETV Bharat that work for a mosque in Dhannipur village of Sohawal tehsil in the district, as mandated in a Supreme Court verdict regarding the Ram temple issue, could not begin owing to lack of No Objection Certificates (NOC) from various departments.

Arshad Afzal Khan, representing the foundation, stated that a map of the prospective mosque and surrounding facilities was submitted by the foundation to Ayodhya Development Authority nearly 15 months back. "Till now, it's been pending. On July 15, the ADA issued a letter to eight government departments, directing them to issue No Objection Certificates for our project. None of the departments, barring Fire Services, even carried out an inspection," Khan noted.

"The fire department found the approach road to the project, which includes hospital, community kitchen, and research center apart from the mosque, to be quite narrow. Taking into account the height of the buildings, the approach road should be 12 meters wide, but it is only six meters wide at the moment," Khan said, explaining that the department withheld the notice and said it would issue it only when corrective measures are taken.

This comes days after Champat Rai, general secretary of the Ram Janmbhoomi Trust, said both construction, as well as demolition proceedings, to improve access and quality of roads, near the temple were in full swing.

“More than 40 percent of the temple construction work is complete. More than 80 percent of the plinth work is done. Darshan at the temple is likely to start from December 2023,” Rai was quoted as saying. PM Narendra Modi conducted the 'Bhoomi Pujan' of the construction site on August 5, 2020. An SC verdict on November 9, 2019, paved the way for the construction to kick off. (With agency inputs)