CHENNAI: HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu on Wednesday said that gold jewels received as donations in temples will be used for temple service and there is no room for irregularities. The minister added that properties of the department worth Rs 1,000 crore had been retrieved since the DMK government came to power.
“The gold offerings over the past 10 years in Samayapuram temple were found unused. Hence, we have decided that after informing the CMr, the gold will be melted and deposited in banks. This will generate additional revenue for temples.
To monitor the process, committees headed by retired judges Raju for Chennai zone, Selvi R Mala for Madurai zone, Ravichandrababu for Tiruchy zone have been constituted.” He added that the process will be videographed. He further said 49 acres of land belonging to Ekambaranathar Temple, Kancheepuram, which is valued at Rs 300 crore has been retrieved from the encroachers.