NGT tells UP govt to submit reply on financial delay in Govardhan Shrine Board development

Hindustani Biradari Vice-Chairman Vishal Sharma said that when such matters of financial misconduct and scams at the major religious sites of India come into light through the media, it tarnishes the image of India in the foreign countries.

HIGHLIGHTS

• NGT pulled up the UP govt
• UP govt asked to submit its reply by next hearing
• The hearing was related to Giriraj Govardhan Parikrama Marg's development

following the reports of financial delays in the projects related to the development of the famous 'Giriraj Govardhan Parikrama Marg', the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has served notice to the Uttar Pradesh government to submit a reply on these reports by the next hearing of the case.

In a hearing by a bench comprising Justice RS Rathore and Justice Satyavan Singh, the tribunal observed that on February 1, 2019, the Additional Chief Secretary of UP had submitted before the tribunal that he will get additional funds for the development of the main projects and the shrine board within 15 days. However, there has been no action on the release of funds, he said.

Social activist Deep Sharma said that such sacred places have become open targets for financial mismanagement and carelessness in their upkeep. Such issues are raised by the media and the devotees time and again but there's rarely any concrete action taken in this direction.

He expressed satisfaction that the NGT was taking up the matter of the shrine board in its own hands. Deep Sharma also said that social organizations should also keep a strict vigil on how the funds are utilized in the development of such religious places.

Hindustani Biradari Vice-Chairman Vishal Sharma said that when such matters of financial misconduct and scams at the major religious sites of India come into light through the media, it tarnishes the image of India in the foreign countries. He said that a large part of the world is impressed by India, especially Hinduism and quite a lot of tourists come to India from foreign countries on religious tourism or for pilgrimages.