Price of Ayodhya shops slashed by 30 pc for allotees

After the humiliating defeat of BJP in Faizabad LS constituency in which Ayodhya Ram mandir was built, the Ayodhya Development Authority moots idea of giving shops at a discount to those displaced during demolitions

Lucknow: In a major policy change, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has slashed the price of shops by 30 per cent for allottees who were displaced due to a road widening project undertaken in the temple town, government officials said.

In addition, it approved the proposal to hand over 500 newly constructed shops to allottees in Ayodhya on 20-year easy instalments without interest. Now that it has been cleared, the ADA will send the proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government.

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Ayodhya Divisional Commissioner Gaurav Dayal, who chaired the board meeting, said, “We have approved a proposal to cut shops’ cost by 30 per cent. In addition, shops will be handed over to allottees on a 20-year easy instalment without interest.” Dayal is also the Chairman of the Ayodhya Development Authority.

These shopkeepers were displaced in the 13-km road widening project from Sahadatganj to Naya Ghat which has been named as Ram Path. The project was completed in December 2023. Earlier, shopkeepers had to pay the full amount to the ADA to take possession of shops.

As these shops cost around Rs 15 to 20 lakh, shopkeepers were unable to pay the amount. The only option before them was to take bank loans. In December last year, these shops were ready. But due to financial constraints, only around 75 shopkeepers took possession of shops till the last month.

“We are thankful to the state government for bringing down the cost of shops by 30 per cent. And the remaining amount will be payable in easy interest-free instalments of 20 years,” said Ved Prakash Gupta, a BJP MLA from Ayodhya (Sadar) Assembly constituency.

In the recently concluded Parliamentary election, the BJP suffered one of its most humiliating defeats in the Faizabad Lok Sabha constituency where its two-time MP Lallu Singh lost to Samajwadi Party’s Awadesh Prasad. The INDIA bloc candidate won the prestigious seat by a margin of 54,567 votes.

After the grand opening of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 22 this year, the people of Faizabad voted for the first time and rejected the BJP. State BJP Chief Bhupendra Chaudhary was in Ayodhya on a two-day visit from Wednesday to ascertain the reasons behind the party’s defeat in the temple town.