A petition in the Allahabad High Court said that the annuity of nine temples in Vrindavan town in Uttar Pradesh had been withheld for the last four years by District Magistrate and Senior Treasury Officer, Mathura. Responding to the same, the High Court noted that it is “painful” that temples and trusts have to knock the doors of the court for getting their dues released from the U.P. government.
The Bench of Justice Rohit Ranjan Agarwal was hearing a petition filed by Thakur Rangji Maharaj Virajman Mandir, a temple built in 1851 AD, seeking the court’s intervention to get its payment of the annuity under Section 99 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition (UPZA) and Land Reforms (LR) Act.
The petitioner told the court that the annuity amounting to ₹9,125,07 had not been released to nine temples due to lack of permission by the Board of Revenue. However, the government submitted that ₹2,23,199 had been paid and now a balance of ₹6,89,308 remained.
The Commissioner/Secretary of the Board of Revenue, in a personal affidavit, told the court that a fund of over ₹6 lakh could not be released to the temples due to paucity of funds.
“This court is pained to note that temples and trusts have to knock the doors of the Court for getting their dues released from the State Government, which should have automatically flowed from the Treasury of the State into the account of temples,” the court noted.
The court further noted that from perusal of the personal affidavit of Commissioner/Secretary, Board of Revenue, it transpired that no effort had been made by the officer concerned for the last four years for getting the annuity transferred into the account of the temples.
“The temple authorities are running from pillar to post for getting their dues released from these government officials, which is strange,” the court added, while issuing summons to the Secretary of the Board of Revenue for an explanation.
The court also noted that a letter written by the DM, Mathura to the Special Secretary, Government of U.P., who sits in Lucknow is an indicator to the effect that the official sitting in the State capital does “not care for the release of annuities to the trusts and temples”.
The court also asked the Registrar (Compliance) to share the order within 24 hours to the Chief Secretary, Government of U.P., who shall place this matter before the Chief Minister for action. The court will hear the matter on March 20.
