Describing the statement by former Supreme Court judge Indu Malhotra on the ‘Communist takeover’ of temples as factually wrong, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K. Ananthagopan has termed the move as an alleged attempt to sabotage the functioning of temples in Kerala.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr. Ananthagopan explained that income from the 1,251 temples under the TDB, which also include the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, went directly to a central fund. The daily expenditure of these temples, besides the salary and pension of employees, were met from this fund.
“Not even a single rupee from the temples goes to the State government and most of the devotees are well aware of this fact. During the floods and during the pandemic, when the temples had remained closed to devotees for months, the government extended financial assistance to the temples. In fact, the TDB has so far received a financial assistance of ₹140 crore since 2018,” he pointed out.
The State government also allotted ₹30 crore for the Sabarimala master plan in this year's Budget, while the amount of ₹80 lakh to be paid annually too has been received without interruption. It also gives special emphasis on the renovation of temples and infrastructure development at Sabarimala, he added.
Holding that it was “unfortunate” for people, including the likes of Ms. Malhotra, to push this kind of propaganda, he urged the devotees as well as the general public to reject the move.
