Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Tuesday said the Devasthanam Board will not be allowed to harm the interest of priests and ‘hak-hakookdharis’ at any cost.
‘Hak-hakookdharis’ have traditional rights on resources in and around the temples. They provide the temples with ‘puja samagri’ collected from surrounding forests and are given a share of the offerings in return.
The Devasthanam Board, which came into existence during the tenure of Trivendra Singh Rawat, controls the management of 51 temples, including Chardham.
Dhami gave the assurance to a delegation of priests, ‘hak-hakookdharis’ and members of Panda Samaj led by Devprayag MLA Vinod Kandari and former MLA from Kedarnath Shaila Rani Rawat.
Senior BJP leader Manohar Kant Dhyani has been asked to submit his recommendations to the state government only after listening to pilgrimage priests (teerth-purohits) and knowing their apprehensions, Dhami said.
“The state government will listen to all stakeholders and address their concerns. The Devasthanam Board will not be allowed to hurt the interest of teerth purohits, hak hakookdharis and Panda Samaj,” Dhami said.
“There should be no communication gap. A solution will be found through talks. All doubts will be addressed and amendments made wherever required,” he told the delegation.
Before the implementation of Badrinath master plan begins, everyone concerned will be heard, he assured.
Teerth purohits, hak hakookdharis and members of Panda Samaj have been agitating for months demanding the dissolution of the Devasthanam Board, saying it infringes upon their rights.