[Jagnnath Temple in Puri - Bhesa of
Deities]
How is the Government accountable to
you for the Hindu Temples it controls ?
How much do you know of how the
Government spends the money you donate to Hindu Temples ?
Namma Devasthana, a group focused on
reinstating the Hindu temples as center of social and cultural exchange, held a
press conference yesterday addressing the need for transparency and
accountability in the temple administration.
Nagarajan of
the Temple Worshipper’s Society (Chennai), Advocate Kiran Bettadapur and K Gopinath,
Professor IISC addressed the audience.
The writ
petition filed by Swami Dayanand Saraswati of Arsha Vidya Peetha in the Supreme
Court in 2012 is significant as it challenges the government
legislations under which Hindu temples are managed. The petition
requests the Supreme Court to null the power of the State to appoint Executive
officers, appoint trustees, levy fee on the temples and mismanage temple funds.
Nagarajan
highlighted the draconian laws encouraging the government to allocate to itself
alone the right to manage temples. The government’s failure to address the
audit objections over temple assets and expenditures is a fact that needs to be
taken cognizance by the Supreme Court immediately.
Nagarajan
also mentioned that Supreme Court needs to clear the duration for which the
Executive Officers are appointed in the temples.
Advocate and
member of Karnataka State Bar Council Kiran Bettadapur pointed out that the
government needs to have a structured route to exit temple administration.
“Temples
cannot be indefinitely managed. The government needs to specify an exit policy
also.”
Kiran stated
the shortcomings in the present temple management scenario:
The temple
jewels for example can be sold after permission is granted by the Executive
officer, who takes the weight of the ornament and states its value as per
temple records. Such practices ultimately lead to the misappropriation of funds
by government officials.
To maintain
the temples an Architectural Committee is present. It however has only 3
members to look after 35,000 temples which is impossible. Hence threat to the
upkeep of temples and temple architecture dating back to centuries.
The
government is acting as the judge as well as the jury, as all personnel trusted
with temple management are government appointed including auditors and charted
accountants, which is against good governance.
RTIs filed
against the Karnataka government are not replied to citing reference to other
cases where a state government refused to reply to RTIs, strongly indicating
lack of transparency.
K Gopinath
stated that there has to be a time frame within which the government can enter
temple administration, rectify the mistake and exit.
The
Karnataka Endowments Department (Muzrai) is endowed with the upkeep of about
35,000 temples. However, the government’s interference in religious affairs
under the pretext of being secular has not been justified. To add to the issue,
temple funds are transferred to government coffers, and audit fees are levied
on the temples as administrative charges.
Voicing his
deep concern over the current
state of Hindu temples, Kiran Bettadapur said that this could be merely a
glimpse into what could be a huge scam, relieving the temples in South
India of their wealth, by shrewd malpractice.
Strong audit
measures need to be introduced, to keep a check on the wealth and expenditures
associated with temples. Regulatory mechanisms not contrary to the secular
principles of the constitution need to be urgently invoked.
The Movement
to Free Hindu Temples has come a long way since these baby steps last year and earlier this year. The manner in which the Puri Jagannath Temple Brahma Paribartan was mismanaged
is a reminder of how widespread the malaise is. It will however have to
assume the scale of a Mass Movement so extraordinary pressure is brought to
bear on the Governments and the Courts to address this constitutional assault
on Hindu Temples.
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