Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Government’s spokesperson and state Energy          Minister Srikant Sharma this morning said five acres of land at Dhanipur village under Sohawal Tehsil on the Lucknow -Ayodhya highway has been selected for building mosque in the Temple city.

The selected area has very good road connectivity as it is near the Ronahai Police Station and was just 18 kilometres from the district headquarters, Sharma told reporters after Cabinet meeting. The Minister said that now the Centre will send the proposal to the Supreme Court for approval.

The Uttar Pradesh Government had proposed sites for five acres land for a mosque on the directive of the Supreme Court over its Ayodhya judgement on Nov. 9, 2019, where the Sunni Central Board of Waqf can construct a mosque. According to sources, the place selected by the government for the mosque is out of the preview of the ‘14 Kosi Parikrama’  and was near the Ayodhya-Barabanki border.

The Supreme Court had directed the Centre and Uttar Pradesh Government to allot an alternative 5-acre land to the Muslims at a prominent place to build a mosque. Muslim parties are divided on accepting five acres of land for mosque.