After the decision given by the Supreme Court in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case, the construction of the proposed mosque in Ayodhya can start in May next year. People associated with the project have said that the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation Trust (which has been entrusted with the work of construction of the mosque in Dhannipur, Ayodhya) may appoint in-charges in various states from February to raise funds.
Zufar Farooqui, chief trustee of the Indo-Islamic Cultural Foundation, said, ‘The final design of the mosque is likely to be ready by mid-February and then it will be sent for administrative approval. The site office will be set up on the campus in February. Farooqui, chairman of Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, said, ‘Hopefully we will be in a position to start the construction of the mosque in May next year.’
Farooqui said that the construction of the mosque is being delayed due to new formalities after changes in the design of the mosque and financial constraints.
Delay due to change in design
The initial design of the mosque was based on the mosques built in India. However, this was rejected and a new design was prepared. He said that the mosque will be built on 40,000 square feet as against the earlier plan of 15,000 square feet.
The IICF had earlier decided to make changes to the “grand” design of the mosque similar to that adopted in Middle Eastern countries. Asked about the possibility of a crowdfunding campaign to overcome financial constraints, Farooqui said the trust would take a decision on it by February.
He said, ‘Crowd funding is a huge task and it is very difficult to handle. What we are trying to do is to give the responsibility of raising funds for the project to our people in different states. He said, ‘We will work to ensure both transparency and accountability.’
Donations will be taken from people
Farooqui said, currently the Mumbai team associated with the trust is working on it and it is expected that within one and a half months we will have sufficient funds. However, Farooqui did not completely rule out the possibility of crowdfunding and said that if needed, online donations would be sought from those willing to donate. He also said that due to changes in the design, there is a lot of delay in the construction of the mosque.