Can first CEO Jeetendra Mishra bring military finesse to Ayodhya Temple affairs

Administering an institution handling hundreds of crores in money and receiving a sea of devotees could be markedly different from running a military set-upThe appointment of Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (retired) as the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra comes at a time when the biggest challenge before the trust is not completion of all construction works at the Ayodhya Ram Temple complex but the way the pilgrimage centre is to be run.The temple trust has acknowledged the need for changes in its administrative system following allegations of theft and irregularities in the handling of devotee donations. An FIR was registered, eight people involved in the donation-counting process were arrested and a special investigation team (SIT) is examining the system through which pilgrim offerings were collected, counted and deposited in banks.Mishra's appointment comes with a clear focus on overhauling this system to make it foolproof. Besides appointing its first CEO, the trust has said it is working to reduce human intervention in the counting of cash donations. Proposals have been received from two banks and an IIT, which will now be examined and a technology-based system introduced.This could be one of the most important reforms for the new CEO. The allegations of wrongdoing largely centred on a process in which people physically handled, counted, bundled and moved large amounts of cash. Any new system will, therefore, have to go beyond simply installing counting machines. It will need to create a proper system of who has access to donation boxes, who can open them, who counts the cash, who verifies the count and how the money is handed over to the bank. The donation-related allegations had raised questions at several of these stages. While the SIT is examining what went wrong and where, Mishra will have to ensure that the system is changed in a way that makes such manipulation more difficult and allows every transaction to be tracked and audited.At the peak of the donation row, Ram Temple Construction Committee chairman Nripendra Misra had argued that an institution of the Ram Temple's size could no longer depend primarily on an informal, volunteer-driven system of handling donations. He had called for a full-time professional CEO with clearly defined authority and responsibility.The temple trust seems to have accepted that approach. The idea is to create a professional administrative layer between the trust's overall authority and the day-to-day functioning of the temple. The CEO is expected to handle the routine administration, including staff, finances, operations, security and systems, while the trust continues to take the larger decisions. The need for such a structure has become more apparent as the Ram Temple has grown into a large institution receiving huge thousands of devotees every month and huge donations.Mishra's military background arguably fits into this approach. He spent 39 years in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and performed on key positions. Before retirement this year, he helmed the IAF’s Western Air Command and was critically involved in the May 2025 Operation Sindoor.Mishra’s experience of working in a large organisation with a formal chain of command could help the trust bring clearer lines of responsibility and decision-making to its administration. But running a temple is very different from running a military organisation, and whether that experience works in Ayodhya will depend on how much authority and independence the new CEO is given.Mishra told India Today TV he considered himself lucky to have the opportunity to serve the Ram Temple and devotees of Lord Ram. He said his responsibilities as CEO, as defined by the temple trust, were in the public domain and the trust was looking for someone it believed could deliver on them. “I have not yet taken over as CEO. I have just gone through the selection process. However, I have familiarised myself with the responsibilities. I am confident I will be able to handle them. As far as the strategy for the future is concerned, I look forward to the guidance of the trust and the support of my team. I have full faith that Lord Ram will provide me with the capability,” he said.The timing of his appointment also means that Mishra will take charge while the old system is still under scrutiny. The trust has welcomed the Supreme Court's latest order expanding the scope of the SIT investigation, saying that a wider probe will help establish the truth and clear the confusion surrounding the allegations. The findings of the investigation could also raise further questions about how the donation system was operated and where responsibility lay.For the temple trust, however, the bigger problem may be rebuilding public confidence. Talking to INDIA TODAY, Sharad Shukla, an Ayodhya resident and Uttar Pradesh vice-president of the Youth Congress, who was one of the first people to raise the donation issue, said that instead of replacing just a few people, the entire team of office-bearers of the trust should have been changed.“A temple trust member like Govind Dev Giri, who publicly accepted that he was rarely present in Ayodhya to look after the whole thing, and did not take his responsibility seriously, has been promoted as general secretary. The donation theft didn't happen because there was no CEO. The appointment is just to divert the minds of the people,” claimed Shukla, adding that the CEO will have many challenges, including winning back the trust of devotees.The criticism underlines why Mishra’s role will not be limited to introducing new systems. The trust will have to show devotees that the changes are real. There is also another aspect to the choice of Mishra. His association with the armed forces and Operation Sindoor brings a strong national security and nationalist image to the administration of a temple that occupies an important place in India's political and cultural life. Choosing a former senior military officer could also be seen as an attempt to bring the credibility and discipline associated with the armed forces into the temple's public image.The appointment is also part of a wider restructuring of the trust. It has accepted the resignations of former general secretary Champat Rai and trustee Anil Mishra. The trust has three new trustees in Mahesh Bhagchandka, Madan Mohan Pandey and Dr Nirmala Yadav. Govind Dev Giri is now the general secretary while Bhagchandka has been appointed treasurer. Mishra will have to work within this restructured set-up and establish how the trustees, office-bearers and the administrative machinery divide responsibilities.The trust said that in 2025-26, it received Rs 237 crore while spending Rs 91 crore on regular expenses, apart from Rs 425 crore on construction. Its available funds stood at Rs 1,882 crore as on March 31, 2026. For an institution handling this kind of money and receiving a sea of devotees, the new CEO will have to put in place systems that are less dependent on individuals. That could include tighter access controls, better surveillance, automated cash counting, digital records, regular reconciliation with banks and independent audits.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsPublished By: Shyam BalasubramanianPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 19:00 IST