Shimla, March 5 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Himachal Pradesh chief Rajeev Bindal has said there are about 40 big pilgrimage places and temples which have been acquired by the state governments from time to time, but the trust funds were never used for budgetary schemes as is being done by the Congress government now.
He said in a statement that the spirit “behind this acquisition is clear that the offerings of the temples should be used in the development of temples, maintenance, facilities for the pilgrims and the development of the pilgrimage sites”.
“What facilities can be provided to the lakhs of pilgrims that come in terms of that offerings, like arrangements for food distribution for them, arrangements for refreshments, their seating, accommodation, the share of the priests and brahmins in the worship, which is payable to them and the maintenance of the idols of Gods in the temples, arrangements for gold-silver ornaments and covering, that money is used for these arrangements,” he said.
Bindal said there are hundreds of small temples in Himachal Pradesh, which have a lot of significance, but there is no donation amount due to which their proper maintenance is not possible.
“There is a provision to pay for the maintenance of such small temples, the arrangements for worship, the honorarium given to the priest there. etc., from the donations of big temples. But the notification issued by the Himachal Pradesh government to the District Magistrates is clearly injunctive that this amount should be made available for the government schemes,” he said.
The BJP President said the Chief Minister's statement in this regard is something else, the Deputy Chief Minister's statement is something else, and the Congress spokespersons' statement is something else.
“We have nothing to do with the fact that there are differences within their government, but under any circumstances, this amount, which belongs to the trust of those temples, will not be allowed to be looted,” the former BJP Minister said.
The notification by the Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh, grappling with a financial crisis amid high debt burden, rising salary and pension bill, to temples for relief, financial and not spiritual, to fund certain government welfare schemes has been condemned by the Opposition BJP.
Former Chief Minister Jairam Thakur said no past government has ever used temple trust funds for budgetary schemes. “Using temple funds for regular government expenses is completely unacceptable,” he told the media here.
In a notification dated January 29, the Social Justice and Empowerment Department sought “contributions for charitable activities and welfare schemes run by the state”.
Gold and silver worth several of crores is in the possession of 29 prominent government-controlled Hindu temples in the state.
The shrine of Chintpurni in the Una district is the richest. Other rich temple trusts include those of Naina Devi in Bilaspur, Jwalamukhi, Brajeshwari Devi and Chamunda Devi in the Kangra district, Bhimakali in the Shimla district, Mahamaya Balasundari temple in the Sirmaur district and Baba Balak Nath in the Hamirpur district.
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