Eight major temples to offer online services

VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana said all temples under the department will be offering online services by August-end.Speaking to media persons at his chamber in Interim Government Complex, Velagapudi on Tuesday, Satyanrayana said corruption and irregularities in any temple will not be tolerated, and the shrines must take measures on the lines of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD).

Data regarding all eight major temples under the State Revenue and Charity Department and 180 temples in the 6 (a) category have been digitised so that the purchase of darshan tickets, room booking, etc., can be done online, he added.

The minister further said a software is being developed to ensure that all financial transactions are handled in a transparent manner. “Special emphasis is being laid on the auditing of the financial affairs of all temples under the purview of the State Revenue and Charities Department. The shrines have been asked to complete the audit for the financial year 2021-22 and submit the reports at the earliest,” he noted.  

The audit reports of 185 temples in the category 6 (a) have already been received, and 1,461 temples in the category 6 (b) are asked to submit the reports by November, he said.Satynarayana added all audit reports would be archived online and authorities concerned will be directed to give immediate explanations if there are any objections to the data. 

“Financial assistance are being provided to priests’ from the Priests’ Welfare Fund Trust, which spent `16.96 crore on 719 priests in 2021-22 and `3.20 crore on 158 priests  this year so far. About 11,000 pending files related to the endowments  department have been settled. Similarly, trust boards were set up by the Dharmika Parishad Committee on Tuesday for five temples with an income of less than `1 crore,” the Deputy CM added. 

The temples that got trust boards are Kotabommali New Ammavari Temple, Sand Hill Rama Satyanarayana Swamy Temple, Visakhapatnam Velampeta Durgala Ammavari Temple, Ponnur Bhavannarayana Swamy Temple and Arugonda Arthagiri Veeranjaneya Swamy Temple. 

On the directions of the CM, review meetings would be held on Mondays and Tuesdays every week to address the issues concerning the the department. Funds will be allocated to all the temples which have made matching contributions in accordance with the rules irrespective of CGF, he added. 

Five temples get trust boards

The temples that got trust boards are Kotabommali New Ammavari, Sand Hill Rama Satyanarayana Swamy, Visakhapatnam Velampeta Durgala Ammavari, Ponnur Bhavannarayana Swamy and Arugonda Arthagiri Veeranjaneya Swamy