Andhra Pradesh - Tirupati   

Endowments Amendment Bill welcomed

TIRUPATI: Convener of the Andhra Pradesh Temples Protection Movement M.V. Soundara Rajan has lauded the State government for its Endowments Amendment Bill which, he says, has ended the ‘spiritual terrorism’ let loose on the temples in the State during the last 20 years by the Endowments Act brought out in 1987 on the basis of the Justice Challa Kondaiah Commission.

Talking to mediapersons at the Press Club here on Monday, he termed the passing of the Bill as the result of 20 years of struggle launched by the Temples Protection Movement to unshackle the 32,000-odd temples.

He said the significant fallout of the Bill was the decision to bring the working of the entire Endowments Department under the control of an autonomous board ‘Dharmika Parishad’ and help revive the temples by giving them autonomy.

He struck a note of optimism that the constitution of the Parishad with the Endowments Minister as Chairman and the Endowments Commissioner as the member-secretary besides, breathing a fresh lease of life into the temples, would also reduce political interference in the working of the department and the administration of the temples.

He said since a separate fund was being created under the Bill, it would ensure salaries for archakas and temple employees and pointed out that archakas would now get a berth on the trust board of the temple concerned besides playing a pivotal role in its working.

This would give a boost to their social and economic status, he said.

Dr. Soundara Rajan hailed the decision to put in place a separate Endowments Tribunal with judicial as well as administrative officers to protect the temple lands from encroachments.

He said despite the fact that the Supreme Court had abolished the hereditary archakatvam only on the condition that the State government ensured remuneration to the archakas to help them sustain, the previous government did nothing in that direction while the present Bill would allow archakas to accept ‘plate collections’ and other offerings from devotees to ‘live in comfort’.

Rangarajan, hereditory archaka in the Chilkur temple, who also played a proactive role in the movement, said that the bill paved the way only for the restoration of the right to ‘kainkaryam’, i.e. to render service in the temple without any right whatsoever for claiming emoluments or a share in the sale proceeds of tickets, prasadams, hundi collection.

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