Kochi, Feb 11 The Kerala High Court has flagged serious discrepancies in the income and expenditure accounts of the Sabarimala Global Ayyappa Meet, observing that the irregularities prima facie point to “grave financial indiscipline” and directing the Travancore Devaswom Board to furnish a detailed explanation.
The Sabarimala Global Ayyappa Meet was a one-day event held at Pamba in September last year.
A Division Bench, while scrutinising the accounts, noted that construction contracts linked to the event were awarded without adhering to mandatory tender procedures.
The court also found mismatches between bills raised and the materials reportedly supplied.
Significantly, there was no proper accounting of the prasadam distributed to participants during the event.
The audit report placed before the court revealed that of the 150 beds said to have been purchased for the event, 50 remain unaccounted for.
Further, Rs 2 crore drawn from the Devaswom Board has not been repaid so far.
The court observed that such lapses, on the face of it, indicate serious financial mismanagement and a lack of procedural compliance.
Irregularities were also highlighted in the GST component of the accounts.
While the Board is eligible for an input tax credit of Rs 1.07 crore, only Rs 45.76 lakh has been reflected in the returns filed with the authorities.
The court pointed out that there is no clarity on whether the remaining Rs 61 lakh has been properly credited to the Board’s funds or adjusted in subsequent filings.
In addition, a bill shows Rs 2.80 lakh towards cabling works, but there is no certification confirming that the work was actually executed at the venue.
The Special Commissioner submitted the accounts before the High Court on Wednesday, and the audit report underlined multiple inconsistencies in the financial statements submitted in connection with the event.
The court has now sought a comprehensive response from the Devaswom Board regarding the discrepancies flagged in the audit.
Meanwhile, Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan maintained that the State government had only provided basic infrastructure support for the event.
He said that Rs 4 crore had been mobilised through sponsorships and that the Board must clarify the remaining accounts and financial entries.
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