Tamil Nadu Stalin govt plans to melt 2137 kg gold and deposit into banks for development of temples.
By Lokmat English Desk | Published: October 25, 2021 01:04 PM2021-10-25T13:04:09+5:302021-10-25T13:04:09+5:30
Next 
India is known for its unique temples and culture people in India have more faith in God than anyone else and people here donate as much as they want or they can. Millions of kilos of donated gold are said to be lying in thousands of temples in India at present. In Tamil Nadu alone, 2,137 kg of gold has been found in temples.
M. in Tamil Nadu. K. Stalin's DMK government is preparing to make billions of rupees through gold lying in temples. It is said that the interest earned on some of the gold in the temple will be deposited in the government treasury.
The gold in the possession of the temples has been lying around for years. It is not used anywhere. Against this backdrop, the Tamil Nadu government has come up with a plan to earn crores of rupees through the gold in the temple.
Under the Tamil Nadu government's scheme, gold from Sri Kumariamman Temple at Thiruvarkadu, Mariamman Temple at Samayapuram, and Mariamman Temple at Erukkankudi will also be mined. These molten gold 24-carat bars will be made.
The 24 carat gold bar will be deposited in the National Banks and the interest will be paid to the State Hindu Charitable and Religious Endowments Department, through which the temples will be developed.
According to government sources, only gold ornaments donated by devotees will be melted down. Which has not been used for the last 10 years the traditional gold ornaments of the temple will not be touched. They will remain the same, it is said.
The petition claims that there is no transparency in the government's plan. Gold donated to nine major temples in Tamil Nadu is currently being mined. The government is getting interest of Rs 11 crore from 500 kg of gold. The value of this gold is Rs 10,000 crore
The Tamil Nadu government has said it plans to monetize the gold in temples since 1979. This scheme has been running for the last 42 years. Under this, the gold donated by the devotees is melted down.
These temples include the ancient Meenakshi Sundarishwar Temple in Madurai, the Dhandhayathapani Temple in Palani, the Sri Subramaniam Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur, and the Mariamman Temple in Sampuram.
The government has no right to touch the gold in the nine major temples as it was donated by devotees, a petition filed in the high court said.