Farmers Movement Archive

Repeal Devasthanam Board, recommends cabinet panel; Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami handed over report

DEHRADUN: Like the three contentious farm laws, the Char Dham Devasthanam Board Act -- against which the priest community in Uttarakhand has been protesting for about two years now -- is also likely to be repealed. On Monday, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was given a report reviewed by cabinet sub-committee -- headed by tourism minister Satpal Maharaj -- on the matter. According to TOI sources, the report suggests the CM to take back the law, which has brought over 50 temples, including the Char Dham shrines, under the state government’s control. The report has been drafted by a high-power committee -- headed by former Rajya Sabha member Manohar Kant Dhyani -- that was set up in August this year. Tourism minister Satpal Maharaj told TOI, “Manohar Kant Dhyani handed me an 89-page report. Subsequently, we compacted all their recommendations in a one-page report and handed it over to the CM. It is upon the CM to take a call on the issue now.” Agriculture minister and government spokesperson Subodh Uniyal told TOI, “After going through various details and keeping in mind the feelings and emotions of people, we have prepared the report and handed it over to the CM.” However, the minister remained tight-lipped over the recommendations made in the report. Notably, Char Dham priests have been protesting against the Uttarakhand government since the bill was tabled by the then chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat in the state assembly in 2019. During his brief stint, former CM Tirath Singh Rawat had announced to remove 51 small temples from the ambit of the Devasthanam Board but he couldn't deliver on the announcement. Later, CM Dhami, during his visit to Uttarkashi in July this year, had announced to get the Act reviewed. A few weeks back, the priests had even prevented Trivendra Singh Rawat from entering the Kedarnath temple premises. State minister Dhan Singh Rawat and BJP state chief Madan Kaushik were also made to sit in the Kedarnath area for over an hour and listen to the demands of the priests.

The Times of India

2021-11-30

Dehradun