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Tuesday, Jan 02, 2007
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Improve temple management: NSS

Staff Reporter

Call to constitute Malabar Devaswom Board

PERUNNA: The Nair Mahasammelan held at the Nair Service Society (NSS) headquarters here on Monday urged the State Government to initiate immediate steps to ensure effective and corruption-free management of temples in the State.

Later speaking to mediapersons, NSS general secretary P.K. Narayana Panicker and assistant secretary G. Sukumaran Nair echoed the sentiments of the gathering and called for immediate constitution of the Malabar Devaswom Board and new legislation for making the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) efficient and corruption-free, while keeping its autonomy intact.

The statement by the Devaswom Minister makes it clear that the Government has the intention to bring in an ordinance on Devaswom administration, Mr. Panicker said. The new legislation should ensure that the autonomy of the board is kept in tact, he said and added that a separate recruitment board should be constituted for appointments to the TDB. It should also ensure that Devaswom funds are not diverted and that age-old customs and traditions at temples are followed strictly, Mr Panicker said.

Recruitment

Reacting to a question, he pointed out that the Public Service Commission (PSC) was not entitled to hold recruitment to the TDB. The State Government is secular in nature and as such the PSC too is a secular institution. Since the board is a religious body, another recruitment agency should be constituted for appointment to the TDB, he said.

Mr. Panicker also called for immediate constitution of the Malabar Devaswom Board.

Even after half a century after the reorganisation of States, the administration of nearly 1,400 temples in the Malabar area is being ruled by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act of the Tamil Nadu Government.

Private trusts

In addition, a good number of rich temples are being administered by private trusts. Temples with little income are not able to provide a decent remuneration for the temple staff.

Taking into account the well-being of the temples and its employees in the Malabar region, it is imperative that a Malabar Devaswom Board is constituted, he said.

On the opposition of the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam to the constitution of the Malabar Devaswom Board, Mr. Sukumaran Nair said they were opposing it as they controlled a number of wealthy temples in the Malabar region.

However, the NSS is taking up the issue only because it is a case of social justice and well being of the temples and their employees, he said.

A resolution adopted at the Sammelan urged the Union Government to initiate steps to alleviate backwardness. Some of the recommendations of the Rajinder Sachar Committee are against the secular nature of the Constitution, it said and added that steps that create the impression that a section of society is being appeased will create a backlash from other sections of society as people from all communities face such backwardness.

Discrimination

In another resolution, the meeting called upon the Government to put an end to the discrimination in the fee structure in unaided schools. While schools run by minority communities are exempted from the control on fee provided as per Rule 30 of Chapter 12 of the Kerala Educational Rules (KER), those run by majority community are not.

NSS President P.V. Neelakanta Pillai inaugurated the Sammelan. In his speech (read out by Mr. Sukumaran Nair), Mr. Pillai said that the Union Government was trying to parcel out national wealth on religious basis.

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