CUDDALORE: A team of officials from the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) began jewellery verification at the Nataraja Temple in Chidambaram on Monday in the presence of Podhu Dikshithars. This is the first jewellery verification in 17 years, according to sources.
The HR&CE team included assistant commissioners C Jothi of Cuddalore, Kumaresan of Tiruvannamalai, and Sivalingam of Villupuram. Appraisers from Tiruchy, Tiruvannamalai, and Villupuram were included in the verification team based on a request by the dikshithars.
The first full verification was held in 1955 and its reevaluation was done in 1981. The second full verification was in 1987. These apart, verification of newly added pieces of jewellery were held seven times, the latest of which was in 2005. So, the current verification is the eleventh one, sources said.
Podhu Dikshithars’ lawyer G Chandrasekhar said the dikshithars submitted for verification only those pieces of jewellery that were received after 2005 (when the last verification was held). Speaking to reporters, Chandrasekhar said: “As per a Supreme Court order, the HR&CE department don’t have the right to hold any kind of inspection at the temple. We issued several letters to the department stating this.” The dikshithars, however, had been cooperating with the jewellery verification since 1955 to prove their credibility and transparency, he added.
He claimed that many rumours were being spread against the temple administration. As such, the administration would hold audits yearly to counter such rumours and release their reports after a retired judge verified them. According to sources, the reports would be shared with the media and a copy would be given to the HR&CE department.
Earlier, the HR&CE department planned to verify the jewellery in the last week of July. It postponed it after a request from Podhu Dikshithars.