HYDERABAD: The Common Good Fund (CGF) committee, which met here on Friday, approved 297 works to be taken up with an estimated cost of Rs 72.47 crore.
Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, who attended the meeting, directed the executive officers (EOs) of various temples to follow the guidelines issues by the state government while executing the works.
“There should not be any negligence in grounding the works,” he said while directing the officials to send all necessary proposals for the works at one go.
The minister also said that estimates received from local leaders or people’s representatives should not be forwarded as it is. The EOs should conduct comprehensive field visits and prepare realistic project assessments after thoroughly inspecting the proposals received from the people’s representatives, she added.
Instructing the officials to utilise CGF funds judiciously, she opined that the efforts of executive officers and senior officials were crucial in developing the temples.
The officials briefed the minister about the funds needed for small temples. She held a detailed discussion with them regarding budget approvals and the requests received for CGF allocations.
Stressing the need to promote the temple tourism across the state, Surekha said that officials of the Endowments department should focus on this aspect and affirmed that the state government was fully committed to promoting the temple tourism.
She announced that this year’s Ashada Bonalu festival would be celebrated in a grand style at the Bhadrakali temple in Hanamkonda. She said that the government intends to take every festival and cultural tradition of the state closer to the people.
The minister reiterated that the government was making all efforts to encourage people to embrace spiritual thinking.
She suggested the officials to work with a clear plan not only to provide amenities for devotees in temples but also to enhance temple infrastructure and increase revenue sources.
She advised conducting further studies on temple tourism circuits. She explained that the government was planning to develop circuits by connecting three major temples within a district and this process would be carried out in three phases.
She said that while taking devotees and tourists to prominent temples, plans were being made to include scenic and historic spots along the way for them to visit.
Endowments Minister Konda Surekha said that estimates received from local leaders or people’s representatives should not be forwarded as it is. The EOs should conduct comprehensive field visits and prepare realistic project assessments, she said. Instructing the officials to utilise CGF funds judiciously, she opined that the efforts of executive officers and senior officials were crucial in developing the temples.