While Karnataka government on Wednesday announced stopping of tasdik grants to non-Hindu religious institutions from Muzrai Department, apparently following protests by Hindu leaders, statistics reveal that such grants constitute less than 3% of the overall allocation.
Of ₹133.62 crore allocated in the budget towards the tasdik grants for the financial year 2020-2021 to 26,666 religious institutions under the government, non-Hindu institutions numbered only 764 or less than 3% of the total, receiving a grant of ₹3.67 crore.
Similarly, of another annual financial assistance of ₹16.30 crore released to 3,808 religious institutions, 111 or 3% of the total assistance were for non-Hindu institutions, which receive about ₹53.28 lakh, government documents reveal.
Sources in the Muzrai Department said that non-Hindu institutions will now get the same amount through other departments. “The money is a budgetary provision. Now the Wakf or Minority Department is likely to release the tasdik for non-Hindu religious institutions,” said a source.
In a statement released in Mangaluru, Muzrai Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary had said that the department had been directed not to release tasdik grants to any institutions other than Hindu institutions. He had cited objections from Hindu religious leaders for the decision.
Government sources said that the State started tasdik grants to compensate the religious institutions that had lost their Inam lands when land reforms were implemented in the State. They included temples, mosques and churches. The Mysore (Religious and Charitable) Inams Abolition Act, 1955, and Rules of 1956 meant for Old Mysuru districts, and Karnataka Certain Inams Abolition Act, 1977, meant mostly for North Karnataka allows tasdik after the religious institutions lost their land during the land reforms. The grant comes from the Revenue Department, but is routed through Muzrai Department.
Misconceptions
“The money accruing from collection or revenue of the temple was never given as tasdik or given to non-Hindu religious institutions, as the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, does not allow it,” said an officer, clarifying on a popular misconception that is widely circulated on social media platforms. However, the decision was made since “unnecessary discussion” on the issue had started and being politicised, he added.
“Tasdik to mosques cannot be stopped since they are under the government and need the grant for their maintenance,” said a senior government official. It was only for convenience that tasdik was released under one budgetary head through the Muzrai Department, he added.
