Ayodhya: Former Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra named first CEO of ‘Ram Mandir’
Ayodhya, September 2: Former Air Marshal Jitendra Mishra has been appointed as the first Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Govind Dev Giri has been appointed as the General Secretary. He was currently the Treasurer. Three new members, including a woman, have also been inducted into the Trust. This was announced after a meeting of the Trust held here on Wednesday.
The Teerth Kshetra Trust said in a statement that Mishra led the Western Air Command in Operation Sindoor. Mishra, a resident of Deoria district in Uttar Pradesh, retired on April 30, 2026, after 39 years of service in the Air Force.
Three new members have also been inducted into the Trust. These include Advocate Madan Mohan Pandey, a resident of Ayodhya Cantonment, Mahesh Bhagchandka from Delhi, and Dr. Nirmala Yadav, a resident of Shikohabad. Nirmala Yadav will be the first female trustee of the trust. Bhagchandka has been appointed treasurer, replacing Govind Dev Giri.
Of the three new members of the trust, 74-year-old Madan Mohan Pandey was part of the legal team representing Ram Lalla in the Ram Janmabhoomi ownership dispute case. He played a key role in the arguments of the parties related to Ram Janmabhoomi in the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court. Pandey also served as the Additional Advocate General of Uttar Pradesh for six years.
The other member, 68-year-old Mahesh Bhagchandka, is a Delhi businessman. He was the host of the Ram Temple’s Bhoomi Pujan in 2020 and the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony on January 22, 2024. Bhagchandka, a graduate, is the author of the book “Purodha of Hindutva.” Bhagchandka, a member of the executive committee of the World Hindu Economic Forum, has also been involved in the installation of Shri Ram pillars at 292 sacred pilgrimage sites associated with the ‘Ram Van Gaman Yatra’.
The third member of the Trust, 66-year-old Dr Nirmala Yadav, is a resident of Shikohabad. She is the first female member of the Trust. A master’s degree holder in Hindi and Sanskrit, Dr Yadav served as the Principal of the college for 19 years.
Following the Ram Temple offering theft scandal, Trust General Secretary Champat Rai and Trustee Anil Mishra resigned on July 2nd. Following their resignations, retired IFS officer Krishna Mohan was appointed Acting General Secretary. The Trust expressed its gratitude and commended Krishna Mohan for successfully discharging his duties during the challenging past two months.
According to the Trust, the meeting discussed efforts being made to reduce human intervention in the process of counting cash donations. Some proposals have been received from two banks and an IIT, which will be evaluated and progress will be made soon with technical assistance.
The Trust expressed its gratitude to the members of the selection committee – Justice (Retd.) Pramod Kohli, Lieutenant General (Retd.) Vishnukant Chaturvedi, Suresh Howde and the committee’s secretary Samir Panda for completing this task in a short period of time by examining five and a half thousand applications and interviewing hundreds of applicants.
According to the Trust, in the financial year 2025-26, the total income was ₹ 237 crore and expenditure was ₹ 91 crore. Apart from this, capital expenditure of ₹ 425 crore was incurred on construction works etc. At the end of the year, March 31, 2026, the total available amount with the Trust was ₹ 1882 crore.
