Uttarakhand: Kedarnath gold controversy: Garhwal commissioner’s investigation report released, major revelations made

Following the Uttarakhand government’s order, the Garhwal Commissioner conducted an investigation into the controversy surrounding the gold-plated sanctum sanctorum of Kedarnath Temple. The Garhwal Commissioner made significant revelations in the investigation report.

BKTC neither purchased nor installed gold: Pandey
Garhwal Commissioner Vinay Shankar Pandey stated in his report that the Badrinath-Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) neither purchased nor installed gold on its own. The committee only cooperated with the government’s instructions based on a proposal from a donor. RTI activist Anil Semwal had requested information from the Tourism and Religious Endowments Department regarding the gold-plated sanctum sanctorum, and the department provided the investigation report.

According to the report, the government appointed the Garhwal Commissioner as the investigating officer in June 2023. In July 2023, he conducted a site inspection with the district magistrates and BKTC officials. The investigation found that, following government approval, a team from the Archaeological Survey of India and the CBRI, Roorkee, inspected the sanctum sanctorum and approved the work. After this, jewelers authorized by the donor, Dalip Lakhi, began the work.

The donor had commissioned the work from his authorized jewelers
After this, jewelers authorized by the donor, Dalip Lakhi, began the work. First, the 230 kg of silver plates installed in the sanctum sanctorum were removed and stored safely. Then, the copper plates were coated with gold and brought to Kedarnath from Delhi via horses and mules under security. Under police supervision, the artisans installed the gold plates on the sanctum sanctorum walls. The report also contains a complete description of the gold and copper.

According to bills provided by the donor, a total of 23.77 kg of gold and 1001 kg of copper were used in the work, which was also recorded in the temple committee’s stock register. Tourism Department documents show that in August 2022, the BKTC Chairman forwarded the proposal received from the donor to the government. After this, correspondence took place between the donor and the committee at the government level and this work was completed with the permission of the government.