VIJAYAWADA: The Endowments Department has decided to re-categorise the temples in view of the increase in income following the rise in devotee turnout. However, the final decision on the issue will be taken after discussing the matter with Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Disclosing the decisions taken at the weekly review meeting of the department to mediapersons at the Secretariat on Tuesday, Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana said the temples, which were earlier categorised as Grade 1, 2 and 3 based on their annual income will be re-categorised.
At present, the temples with an annual income of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh are administered by assistant commissioners (ACs) of endowments, those with an income of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore by deputy commissioners (DCs) and those with an income of above Rs 1 crore by Regional Joint Commissioners (RJCs).
Now, it has been proposed to revise the income limit of the three categories. The temples under the control of ACs will be with an income of Rs 2 crore to Rs 7 crore, those under DCs will be with income of Rs 7 crore to Rs 12 crore and those under RJCs will be with income of Rs 12 crore and above. “Re-categorisation will require five more posts of ACs, 15 posts of DCs and there will be a reduction of one RJC post,” he explained.
Regarding recent orders from the High Court on the administration of temples with an annual income of below Rs 5 lakh, the minister said they have ordered a resurvey of such temples.