NEW DELHI, India: Indian home ministry officials have okayed barricading the controversial Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Mosque complex in Ayodhya.

Informed ministry sources said a temporary structure of bullet proof steel measuring 11 feet by 7.5 feet would be erected on all four sides of the complex. A double wall of steel filled with mud would be placed behind this steel barricade to absorb the impact of a rocket attack.

According to the sources, an amount of Rs.8 crores (1.7 million dollars) will be required for this `security wall" around Ayodhya.

Simultaneously, the authorities may have to seek the permission of the Supreme Court to go ahead with the project as the dispute is presently sub-judice, and the latest apaex court order had called for the maintenance of status quo at the site, which has been a cause of heartburn between Hindus and Muslims for more than five decades.