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Ayodhya | A special meeting of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust got underway at the Ram temple complex at 3 pm on Wednesday, with discussions centred on appointing a new general secretary, filling three vacant trustee posts and the future administrative structure of the temple trust.

The special meeting will be followed by the Trust's regular meeting at the Maniram Chhawani, the residence of Trust president Mahant Nritya Gopal Das.

Most trustees reached Ayodhya on Tuesday, while a few members joined the proceedings virtually from Delhi and Lucknow, Trust sources said.

The Trust has 15 members, of whom 11 permanent trustees have voting rights. The remaining participate in the meetings in accordance with the Trust deed but do not have voting rights.

The special meeting is expected to deliberate on filling three vacancies that arose after the resignations of Champat Rai as the Trust general secretary and Anil Mishra as a trustee in the wake of the Ram temple donations theft row, and the death of trustee Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra.

The Trust is also expected to discuss the administrative framework for the newly created post of chief executive officer (CEO), including the officer's responsibilities, while the second session is likely to focus on financial transparency, counting of devotees' offerings, handling of donations, security arrangements, issuance of VIP, Sugam and Aarti passes, and other administrative matters.

Ahead of the meeting, Trust member and Nirmohi Akhara chief Mahant Dinendra Das told PTI that he would propose the name of Yatindra Mohan Pratap Mishra, son of late trustee Bimlendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, for one of the three vacant posts.

He also said he would press for ensuring that worship at the Ram temple continues strictly in accordance with the Vaishnav-Ramanandi tradition.

Das expressed hope that the Trust would induct people capable of strengthening the administration of the Ram temple and take its management to greater heights.

Asked if there had been any discussion on the possible return of former general secretary Champat Rai to the Trust, Das said he had no information on the issue and that whatever decision the Trust collectively takes would be acceptable.

The Trust had invited applications for the CEO’s post till July 18. Although no official figure has been disclosed, sources associated with the selection process have termed the response “overwhelming”, with applications received from several retired IAS and IPS officers, senior bureaucrats and professionals.

There is speculation that a three-member expert panel may be given additional time to scrutinise the large number of applications before submitting a shortlist.

The expert committee, comprising retired Justice Pramod Kohli, Lieutenant General Vishnukant Chaturvedi (retd) and former NIT Raipur chairperson Suresh Haware, has been tasked with screening the applications and recommending suitable candidates. The final appointment will be made by the Trust.

Wednesday's meetings are also expected to formally confirm the proceedings of the Trust's July 6 meeting, during which a special committee was constituted to recommend amendments to the trust deed and frame guidelines for the custody, valuation and disposal of temple offerings.

The meetings are being held amid a row over alleged embezzlement of donations offered at the Ram temple.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 13 to examine the allegations. Following the submission of its preliminary report on June 23, an FIR was registered on June 25 and eight accused – Avinash Shukla, Anukalp Mishra, Lavkush Mishra, Manish Kumar Yadav, Karunesh Pandey, Ramashankar Mishra, Subhash Srivastava and Ramashankar Yadav alias Tinnu Yadav – were arrested.

Police have recovered cash from multiple accused, including Rs 20.39 lakh from Avinash Shukla, besides gold, silver, foreign currency and a donation box labelled ‘Ramrajya Kosh’.

The SIT's final report has since been submitted before the Supreme Court, and Trust sources said it may also come up for discussion during Wednesday's deliberations.