Ayodhya Temple Donation Staff Resign En Masse

A probe into alleged embezzlement is changing the day-to-day functioning of the counting centre at Ayodhya's Ram temple, with over half of its personnel resigning, trust sources said Friday.

The once large staff of counting has been reduced to approximately 12 regular staff. Prior to the case becoming public, there had been a reduction in attendance at the donation counting centre with only 15-20 out of the approximately 40 personnel regularly coming in because of fear in the wake of the investigation.

Why the Exodus

The investigation itself has not been the main concern of the departing employees. Instead, the counting exercise, which earlier was conducted in two shifts, has been shortened to just one shift which comes to about 9-10 hours of work with no hike in pay, employees said.

The surprise of having to work longer hours in one shift, from the counting team as well as other workers, has made it impossible to sustain for a devotee-turned-employee who had left his job in hopes of regular hours.

The scandal broke last month. The case involves the alleged diversion of the donations made by devotees before they were deposited in banks, seven individuals have been arrested so far, all involved in counting the donations in the temple.

Trust's Reckoning

The repercussion is going well beyond the counting hall. Police recovered cash, gold ornaments, a vehicle and other property bought with allegedly misappropriated temple money during search operations and investigators have frozen 15 bank accounts in their search for money laundering.

The Trust, on its part, took the resignations of the General Secretary Champat Rai and Trustee Anil Mishra, appointed an interim general secretary and started the search for a professional CEO to ensure professional governance.

Investigators find the weaknesses are not in one place but in the procedures as a whole. The SIT's initial report identified breaches of the temple's normal operating procedures, including the failure to check staff for theft as required, and the failure to monitor CCTV (closed circuit television) systems to prevent repeated thefts that went on for several weeks.

The Road Ahead

In response, the Trust has introduced tighter frisking, increased surveillance and a restructured shift pattern – all of which was intended to address the very weaknesses that investigators themselves had identified. But in the short-term it has created a strange phenomenon, the reforms have undermined the very people who are needed to implement the reforms. A fix that undermines itself is paradoxical, fitting for a seeming contradiction that is nonetheless true.

As police and the Trust's internal review process run concurrently, the next few weeks will see if a more streamline and tightly-scrutinised counting staff can manage the number of donations at India's busiest pilgrimage site without any further hassle.

For the time being, the Trust is in a familiar struggle of governance: reforms which increase accountability can, in the short term, put them at risk of losing the very employees they need to run their day-to-day affairs.