This has not weakened the Sikh 'panth' cause,' Baldev Singh Khalsa pointed out.

Hooda's announcement is being seen in the light of the impending assembly polls in the state to be held latest by February next year. The state has a sizeable Sikh population.

The SGPC, which manages all the big gurdwaras, including the holiest Sikh shrine Harmandar Sahib popularly called Golden Temple in Amritsar, is unlikely to let go of its control over the Haryana gurdwaras without a fight.

The SGPC has an annual budget of Rs.4.5 billion.

The Haryana government's decision has come five months after the Chatha Committee, set up by Hooda to study the possibilities of having a separate Sikh organisation in the state, gave its recommendations this February based on 128,566 affidavits of Sikh activists.

Following this, the government formed a three-member committee under the advocate general to examine the case and facilitate its implementation.

The demand first came to the fore when seven Haryana members of the 170-seat SGPC levelled allegations of neglect of the state's historical gurdwaras 'even though they were adding Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 million) of revenue in the SGPC's kitty every year'.

There are seven major historical gurdwaras in Haryana under the direct control of the SGPC. Eighteen others are under its indirect control - elected members form the local management and one member from the SGPC is co-opted into the panel.