Ram Mandir CEO Decision Today: From Encounter Specialist To Ex-Ayodhya DM, Meet Top 3 Contenders - News18

**Ram Mandir Trust Narrows CEO Hunt to Three Uttar Pradesh Officials** The Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra (RJTK), the statutory body that administers the newly‑completed Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, announced today that it has shortlisted three candidates for the post of its first full‑time Chief Executive Officer. All three aspirants are senior civil‑service officers from Uttar Pradesh, reflecting the trust’s desire for leaders with deep regional knowledge and experience handling large‑scale public‑sector projects. The shortlist, revealed in a brief statement to the media, includes:

1. **Prakash Singh**, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer famed for his “encounter” operations against organised crime in Uttar Pradesh and who most recently served as Lucknow’s Police Commissioner; 2. **Uttam Kumar Singh**, a former District Magistrate of Ayodhya who oversaw the temple’s construction phase and is credited with streamlining land‑acquisition and contractor‑management processes; and 3. **Saurabh Kumar**, a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) bureaucrat who has headed the state’s tourism department and previously managed the affairs of several major pilgrimage sites.

The trust’s governing board is expected to convene this evening to select the CEO, a decision that carries significant operational and symbolic weight. The chosen executive will supervise day‑to‑day administration, oversee the temple’s multimillion‑rupee donation accounts, and coordinate pilgrim services as the site prepares for an anticipated surge in visitors after the inaugural “Mahotsav” celebrations. The board’s deliberations also include a pending amendment to the temple’s deed, a move prompted by recent reports of irregularities in the handling of donated funds. The amendment aims to tighten financial oversight and introduce stricter audit mechanisms, a step the trust says is essential to restore public confidence after the theft row made headlines earlier this month.

Stakeholders from the religious, political and civil‑society spectrum have been watching the selection closely. While some factions argue that a bureaucrat with a background in law‑enforcement could better safeguard the temple’s assets, others contend that an experienced administrator familiar with religious‑site management will be more adept at handling pilgrim logistics and heritage preservation. The RJTK’s decision, expected to be announced by midnight, will set the tone for the temple’s governance in its formative years and could influence how other large‑scale religious projects are administered across the country.

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