Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday increased the fixed deposits for 12,959 one-time puja ( oru kaala pujai ) temples in the State to ₹2 lakh each. He released ₹129.59 crore as State subsidy towards this.
One-time puja temples under the purview of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department have so far been getting interest from fixed deposit of ₹1 lakh each to be used for puja. Mr. Stalin handed over a cheque for ₹129.59 crore to Tamil Nadu Power Finance and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Tufidco - Powerfin) as fixed deposit.
The Corporation’s Chairman and Managing Director Atulya Misra received the cheque at a function at the Secretariat.
It was in 1984 that a scheme to provide funds to temples was launched. In 1993, it was increased to ₹25,000 per temple from ₹3,500 and in the first phase 2,500 temples were covered. The government created fixed deposits of ₹1 lakh each for 12,959 temples from surplus funds of large temples in 2011. In September 2021, the government began providing ₹1,000 a month per priest of the one-time puja temples.
Minister for HR and CE P.K. Sekarbabu said this was a big step towards providing enough funds for performing pujas in these temples, which were surviving on a shoe-string budget. He said that earlier this year, the Chief Minister had arranged for providing provisions, including rice, from his personal funds to COVID-19 affected priests of such temples.
Secretary B. Chandra Mohan and Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran were present. Priests from various one-time puja temples, who were invited to the event, expressed their gratitude.
