PATHANAMTHITTA: Former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth has said only Rs 3 crore has been spent so far to organise the Global Ayyappa Sangamam, dismissing charges of financial irregularities over the event’s expenses.
In a Facebook post, Prasanth said the entire Rs 3 crore was received through sponsorships. An additional Rs 1 crore has also been received as sponsorship, he added. He clarified that Rs 3 crore had initially been taken as advance under the head “Religious Conferences and Discourses” for organisational purposes. The amount was fully repaid on October 17, 2025, once the sponsorship funds were received. “Not even a single rupee has been spent from the Devaswom Board’s funds,” he stated.
Referring to an interim report submitted by the devaswom commissioner before the court on November 4, 2025, Prasanth said the total expenditure was stated as Rs 4.5 crore, plus GST. He questioned the basis of a newly surfaced report citing different figures and said the matter warranted examination.
Sharing the copies of documents, he maintained the details are open for scrutiny. Providing a break-up, Prasanth said Rs 1.64 crore was spent on event management and infrastructure development. Other major expenses include Rs 21.5 lakh for food, Rs 10 lakh for transportation and Rs 25 lakh for publicity. Meanwhile, a complaint has been lodged with the vigilance director seeking a probe into the alleged irregularities. The complainant alleged that Rs 8 lakh was billed in the name of ‘Nandagovindam Bhajan’, even though the music group did not perform in the event.