Alwar temple demolition: Republic accesses proposal copy; no order to bulldoze temples

As the political war over the Alwar temple demolition intensifies, Republic has accessed the Alwar demolition proposal of 2021 which is the same copy as the 2016 proposal. According to the copy, there was no order to demolish the temple but to reconstruct the Gaurav path whose construction was halted in 2016. 

The order has mentioned that the illegal encroachment had to be removed to ensure the construction of the path. The order directed to resume the construction of the path after demolishing an equal area from both sides of the road. This order was passed by the Sub-divisional office after it was decided unanimously.  

The Gehlot government has passed the same order which was drafted by the BJP in 2016. This order mentions nothing about the demolition of temples. The BJP’s order also discusses the electric pole demolition and every inch of the land that would be broken down but has no mention of a ‘masterplan’ as quoted by the Congress government. 

Despite the order being reviewed several times, there is no statement in the order that points to the claims that the BJP government intended to demolish the temple.

A 300-year-old Shiva temple razed in Rajasthan

On Friday, the demolition of two temples, among other structures, in Rajasthan’s Alwar district earlier this week created a political storm with the BJP accusing the Congress-led government of hurting the sentiments of Hindus by using bulldozers on temples. 

Alwar district collector Nakate Shivprasad Madan said that the board of the Rajgarh municipal council passed the proposal to demolition the illegal structures and the action was taken according to the decision of the local administration, in the presence of police.

The collector stated that a proposal to remove encroachment was passed, in the meeting of the board headed by the chairman. He further mentioned that the action of demolition was done after the Executive Officer issued notices. 

It is further learned that the executive officer of the council on April 6, had issued notices to 86 people to remove encroachment from the road, and sufficient time was given for the same. The officer informed that on April 17 and 18, more than 100 structures were demolished. It was then stated that one time was completely demolished and the idols removed, while the second one was partially taken down but the sanctum sanctorum is safe. 

Urban development minister Shanti Dhariwal said that in a meeting of the board in September 2021, the proposal to remove the encroachments to widen the road as per the master plan was passed and action was taken in compliance with the board’s decision after serving notices.

(Image: ANI)