The management of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is faced with a peculiar situation — what it should do with the donations of 150-kg of gold and cash which is enough purchase about 35 kg of gold, required for the programme it has taken up for panelling the four outer walls around the sanctum sanctorum of the hill temple of Venkateswara.
The donations poured in the moment the previous trust board announced the decision. But even as fabrication of the ornamental panels was apace, the work had to be stopped with the Andhra Pradesh High Court initially staying the work and later passing specific orders directing the TTD to stop it at once, on writ petitions. The petitions pleaded that the gold panels would not only weaken the structure of the sanctum but also prevent pilgrims from having a look at the inscriptions on the walls.
Against the requirement of about 200 kg of gold, the TTD has already acquired up to 90 per cent. According to a senior TTD official, the management now has three options: One, to return the gold and cash to the donors if they so wished. Second, if the devotees declined to take back the donations for sentimental reasons, it might deposit them with the State Bank of India. The TTD has already signed a pact with the SBI for a ‘gold deposit scheme.' Under the scheme, the TTD has deposited 1,000 kg of its 3,000-kg gold reserves, on a guarantee from the bank that the TTD could collect its gold and interest on it on expiry of the term, either in gold or cash.
The third option the TTD is contemplating is using the donations to meet the future needs of the temple, vis-à-vis ornaments, vessels, platters and such other pieces used for daily during rituals.
However, the TTD management is in no hurry. For, it is not sure yet whether the respondents will move the Supreme Court seeking to set aside the lower court orders, in which case the entire gold might be required for the panelling work.
