VIJAYAWADA: A sum of Rs 311 crore has been sanctioned under the Conservation Grants Fund (CGF) for the development and renovation of temples in the State, said Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana. He held a review meeting with the officials of the endowments department and later speak to the reporters at the secretariat here on Tuesday.
The Endowments minister said they will issue notices to the temple management if they do not start the works from the date of sanctioning of funds. The funds will be cancelled automatically if the works are not completed within two years and have to apply again according to the new Standard Schedule Of Rates (SSR), he explained.
Kottu Satyanarayana further elaborated that as per the cabinet decisions pertaining to the department taken during the meeting on July 12, there will be no retirement for the Archakas, if they are fit to work. The retirement ages of employees of the endowments department have also been increased from 60 to 62 years.
Additionally, he added that for continuing lifetime as, hereditary Archakas, they will have to pass an examination and attend training conducted by the department.
“Under the instructions of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the wages of the Archakas have been increased to Rs 10,000 from Rs 5,000. Salaries for 3,208 archakas have been increased to Rs 15,650 from Rs 10,000,” the deputy CM explained.
Elaborating on the development of temples, he said the endowments department has increased the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam facility to 4,681 from 1,561 temples across the State. He also disclosed that Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams’ (TTD) Srivani Trust has allocated Rs 10 lakh to 1,917 new temples. Of the total, the construction of 204 temples has been completed, while work is under progress on 890 temples. The construction work will commence for another 823 temples, he added.
Satyanarayana said the TTD executive officer has agreed to their request of allocating funds for the construction of 873 new temples in a couple of days. Local Brahmins will be deployed as Archakas in 2,790 temples after the completion of the construction, while SCs, STs and BCs will be deployed in their particular colonies if they are interested. However, they will first have to undergo training at the Archaka Academy, he added.