The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : TTD board approves Rs. 676-crore budget

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 21, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

TTD board approves Rs. 676-crore budget

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUPATI, FEB. 20. The TTD Trust Board today approved a Rs.675.86 crore budget for fiscal 2005-06, which is Rs.26 crores more than its 2004-2005 budget. Of the total income, the hundi collections alone account for Rs.279 crores, while the sale of laddus is expected to fetch the temple Rs.42.5 crores.

Other receipts are Rs.116 crores by way of interest on investments, Rs.68.22 crores from the sale of different paid seva tickets, Rs.33.25 crores through the sale of Rs.25/- special darshan tickets, Rs.27.5 crores from the cottages and choultries and Rs.63.29 crores as miscellaneous receipts.

The payments side shows a bulk out-go of Rs.123.456 crores towards the wage bill which is nearly Rs. 10 crores more than last year's.

Major outflow

The next major outflow is Rs.116.5 crores towards creation of fixed assets followed by Rs.100 crores earmarked for other debt-heads. The other expenses are Rs.95 crores towards grants and contributions, Rs.44 crores towards the making of `laddus,' Rs.85 crores towards investments and Rs.68.64 crores towards miscellaneous expenses. The Board, which met today at Tirumala with its chairman, T.Subbarami Reddy, in the chair, also approved the TTD's revised budget for the year 2004-05. In the customary post-budget press briefing, the chairman denied once again that there was any move to divert the TTD's surplus and reserve funds to private banks and non-banking financial institutions. He also denied media reports on the reported move to hike the cost of some of its prime sevas and the `VIP break' seva tickets.

Two new sevas

As for some other major decisions taken by the Board, one related to the bifurcation of its Dharma Prachara Parishat into three divisions and location of a division each in all the three regions to ensure its decentralisation and improvement in its operational efficiency. Incidentally, the board earmarked Rs.20 crores in its current fiscal for the DPP, which is charged with the task of propagation and preservation of values, cultural heritage, spiritualism, especially among the vulnerable sections.

The board also decided to introduce two new sevas— `Go Puja' and `Go Danam' for the benefit of the pilgrims. Under the `Go Puja' scheme, those who intend to perform the puja at Tirumala would be allowed to do it at a specified place for a specified tariff to be worked out later. Similarly, those desirous of donating cows to the temple also could fulfil their vow and the modalities for this are also being finalised. The board also decided to introduce a `ksheera danam' scheme under which children and elderly persons would be supplied free of cost either in the queue complex or at specified places.

The TTD's Executive Officer, A.P.V.Narayana Sarma, and the Endowments Commissioner, I. Venkateswarlum, also attended the board meeting as its ex-officio members.

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