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| Tamil nadu temple gold and melting indiccollective.org |
The HR & CE, an arm of the Tamil Nadu government has in its control more than 44000 Hindu temples of various sizes across the state, including countless historical ones built by the rulers of various dynasties in the way past. Though they have the right just to manage the temples, they have no rights whatsoever to interfere in the religious matters of the temples - festivals, pujas, etc. Nor do they have special power to control the vast temple lands and buildings in the urban and semi urban areas and handle the revenue from them. HR&CE does not spare Undiyal collections either in the huge Undiyals placed in several places on the temple premises. The periodic counting of hundial collection is not done by the authorized official with public participation.
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| Madras High Court and melting of temple gold. livelaw.in/news- |
Having monopoly over temples and money-spinning properties owned by them, HR&CE officials always take arbitrary decision backed by the ruling government in power with respect to construction of shopping complexes, marriage halls, etc., on the temple lands under the pretext of revenue generation. The crux of the matter is the contract work projects generate lots of illegal money on the sides by way of commission and the contractors with little money left, obviously end up building substandard structures of questionable strength and longevity.
Their decisions and proposals on the public properties -temple lands, are never put to a referendum. Is it not undemocratic on the part of HR&CE to fail to hold referendum dealing with properties donated by the public to the temples?
Not content with mismanagement of temple properties, storage of valuable antique metal idols of deities, recently the HR&CE made a proposal to melt temple gold in the form of jewelry, etc donated by devotees and convert them into gold bars to be deposited with central government banks. In this respect the Madras High Court on October 28, 2022, upon hearing PILs challenging the Tamil Nadu government's announcement of a Gold Monetisation Scheme whereby jewelry and gold given as offerings to Hindu temples across Tamil Nadu were proposed to be melted into gold bars, said, 'Do not take decision on melting Temple gold till Trustees are appointed to Hindu temples in the State'(Indic Collective Trust and anr v. State of Tamil Nadu and anr).
Why is HR&CE which never publicizes the annual audit report on the temples' revenue and expenditure under its management, is keen to convert the vast gold jewelry donated by devotees to the temples unfulfillment of their wish. If the temples have a list of such donors, courtesy demands that the authorities should take written permission from the donors or their family. What about the gold items dropped in the hundials and how will they make proper appraisal of them?
The way the government departments in charge of Hindu temples act in many states, it is quite obvious the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution against the intervention of the Government in the administration of religious institution through the Statutory Boards such as HR&CE may appear paradoxical. Why are the Hindu temples targeted?
https://www.barandbench.com/news/litigation/melting-temple-gold-trustees-madras-high-court
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