Express Exclusive: 6 years before SIT probe, audit firm flagged lack of ‘systemic record’ of Ram temple donations

Within months of the formation of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, an audit firm had found its management to be “highly unprofessional” and noted that there was no “systemic record” of donations.

Six years later, the recommendation of the private audit firm that a “Systematic Operating Process (SOP)” be drafted for efficient management is yet to be implemented, even as the temple committee is now facing allegations of misappropriation of donations. A Special Investigation Team submitted its preliminary findings to the Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday.

In its report submitted in November 2020, the audit firm suggested the “Need to devise SOP of trust for each level of transaction, data management, staff and other resources” to fix responsibility and accountability.

It also noted the unavailability of “systematic record for financial reporting” and said: “(The) Layer of management at the execution level is not defined and highly unprofessional… It will be difficult to control the information and establish fair practice in the present scenario.”

A senior official at the firm was contacted, but could not be reached for comment. The Indian Express also sent questions to the firm’s accountant, Chandan Rai, as well as the trust’s general secretary, Champat Rai, but they did not respond.

The trust’s website (https://srjbtkshetra.org/) makes no mention of any SOP, and no Internal Audit reports are available on it.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra trust was formed on February 5, 2020, following the Supreme Court verdict clearing the way for the construction of the Ram temple at Ayodhya. Since then, it is estimated to have received around Rs 3,500 crore as donations in cash alone, besides other forms such as jewellery.

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Ram Temple administration is facing allegations of misappropriation of donation funds and valuables offered by devotees. (File Photo)

Sources in the trust told The Indian Express that in November 2020, a top official of the Trust requested the said audit firm trust to advise on ‘Internal Audit and Risk Management’.

The audit firm analysed the systems of fund management and data management at the temple, highlighted several shortcomings, outlined possible risk implications, and recommended corrective measures. An SOP, the firm said, “will ensure organised culture and process at all levels, to be adhered to by all executives”, while warning that “unprofessional staff and data management will lead to dubious information and reporting and misleading tendency to fellow staff and management”.

The report further stated: “(The) Layer of management at the execution level is not defined and highly unprofessional… systematic record (of donations) for financial reporting is not available… No second and third check is available at any point of transaction and data entry… Accountability needs to be fixed in a structured organization tree. Coordination in between the related work flow of a transaction is a must for data integrity and effective management.”

With recent allegations that jewellery as well as cash donated at the Ram temple were unaccounted for, the management of the trust is facing heat. A source associated with the trust says “the present mess” could have been avoided “if the trust management had properly addressed the concerns raised by the audit firm”.

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In fact, the audit firm had also addressed concerns regarding the mismanagement of donations such as jewellery, and recommended that “in-kind transaction entry with proper stock register… be maintained”.

The absence of a proper HR department despite the thousands employed by the Teerth Kshetra trust had also been remarked upon by the audit firm, as well as the “requirement of qualified staff for periodic bank reconciliation and accounting data entry and MIS (Management Information System)”.

On data management, the report said: “No record found for the IT management company confirming their sensitive data management service, server, data security and data theft vulnerability… No sorts of internal control available to validate, monitor and verify data entry and database of the IT service provider and their own internal mechanism of controlling and maintaining the integrity and security of information and reports.”

Recommending “a dedicated qualified staff to coordinate” between an IT service provider and the trust, the audit firm said this will ensure “policy adherence and regular control for data flow across levels”. “In the absence of (IT infrastructure) policy and control, we risk security of data and information and possibilities of theft and inappropriate transaction and data entry.”