Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar has denied the allegation that the income from Sabarimala and other temples is being deposited in the treasury and diverted for public purposes.
Replying to a submission of V.D. Satheesan on the campaign that the government was using temple funds for other purposes, Mr. Sivakumar told the Assembly on Monday that the government had so far spent Rs.231.38 crore from temples and Devaswoms. The government had given Rs.106.30 crore to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Rs.2 crore to the Cochin Devaswom Board, and Rs.60.31 crore to the Malabar Devaswom Board. In addition, Rs.62.18 crore was given for stepping up the security of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Rs.50 lakh for the Koodalmanickam Devaswom, Rs.5 lakh for renovating the Chamravattom temple, Malappuram, when it was gutted and Rs.4 lakh for renovating the Chovalloor temple.
The government had so far spent Rs.540 crore for construction and maintenance of Sabarimala roads.
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In addition to these were the funds expended for providing medical care and other infrastructure facilities in Sabarimala. The accounts of Devaswoms were audited by the Local Fund Audit Department as per the directions of the High Court and reports were available for public scrutiny.
The campaign that the government was using the funds from temples for other purposes was baseless, he said.