A BATTLE FOR THE TEMPLES
On May 23, Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran asked the 44,227 temples under his control to come clean on their finances. A circular was sent out mandating that audited accounts will have to be updated on the HR&CE website from this year. “Several provisions of the HR&CE Act emphasise transparency and informing the public about the expenditure. It is in the interests of improving the administration of the temples,” he explained.
The move is a follow-up to a pre-poll promise by chief minister M.K. Stalin after doubts (and demands) were raised about temple management in the state. By digitising documents regarding properties and assets owned by temples, the government aims to make them available in the public domain. The move comes at the end of a bitter war
