Ayodhya Mosque’s Layout Plan Turned Down, Reveals RTI

The Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has turned down the layout plan for the proposed mosque in Dhannipur village, citing the absence of mandatory no-objection certificates (NOCs) from multiple government departments, a TOI report said, citing information obtained through an RTI query.

The mosque project stems from the Supreme Court’s landmark verdict of November 9, 2019, which directed that five acres of land be allotted to the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board for building a mosque and related facilities. On August 3, 2020, then Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha officially transferred the designated land to the Waqf Board. The mosque trust subsequently submitted its layout plan for approval on June 23, 2021.

In response to the RTI filed by local journalist Om Prakash Singh on September 16, 2025, the ADA confirmed that the trust had paid Rs 4 lakh in application and scrutiny fees. However, NOCs were still awaited from several departments, including PWD, Pollution Control Board, Civil Aviation, Irrigation, Revenue, Municipal Corporation, District Magistrate, and Fire Services.

Trust secretary Athar Husain expressed frustration, saying, “The Supreme Court directed this land to be given for a mosque, and the state government complied. I am at a loss to understand why NOCs have not been issued and why the ADA has rejected our plan.”

Husain added that during a site inspection, the Fire Department raised objections over the approach road width. With the mosque and hospital building heights in mind, the department said the road should be at least 12 metres wide. However, on-site measurements showed that existing approach roads were just 4–6 metres wide.

The trust, Husain said, has not received any formal communication regarding other departmental objections: “Apart from what the Fire Department pointed out, we have no information about objections from any other agency. Now that the RTI has clarified the situation, we will review our next steps.”