Living on a prayer: Muzrai temples in bad shape

Halasuru and Chickpet, some of the oldest areas in Bengaluru, are known for their clusters of temples. Many of these are maintained by the Muzrai Department, which also collects the revenue they generate. This money fills government coffers while the temples are left to fall apart, reports Nischith N.

In the midst of bustling Balepet, in the heart of old Bengaluru, is the Shree Sugreeva Venkataramana Swamy Temple. Here, devotees come to pay homage to the Monkey King, Sugreeva, who is depicted by a six-foot tall statue. On the other side of the street is a temple dedicated to Lord Venkateshwara. Sadly, the devotees who come here are faced with something of an anticlimax - the temple is in bad condition, despite being maintained by the Hindu Religious Endowment Department (the Muzrai). It isn’t the only one. Dozens of Bengaluru’s religious monuments have been allowed to fall to pieces.

The rain hasn’t helped. Sheets of tarpaulin and brightly coloured buckets make for unsightly decor additions in many temples, to deal with the leaking roofs. Out of the 57 that are governed by the Muzrai, 24 fall under the ‘A’ category, 14 are in category ‘B’, while category ‘C’ comprises 16 temples. This is decided based on revenue - those generating the most revenue are class ‘A’ temples. A portion of the revenue they generate is to be spent on maintaining all the Muzrai temples. Needless to say, this is not done.

One attempt was made but work of this nature requires skilled artisans. The workers who were brought in to do the job simply lacked the know-how to restore the delicate brick work. “The restoration work was stopped, giving way to further deterioration,” says Ravi Kumar, a heritage activist. “We have many magnificent shrines for temples like Shree Sugreeva Venkataramana Swami Temple and many others. This one is rare - made with brick and stone. Work is started and stopped midway, with authorities claiming that it damages the original structure.”

The massive misappropriation of temples’ wealth actually has its roots in British rule and the arrival of the East India Company. Some 70 years after India gained Independence, the misappropriation of wealth continues unchanged. “The government officials want the income these temples provide but don’t want to keep them in good condition. There is a complete lack of transparency in the process,” Kumar alleges.

So what happens to the money? A paltry 22 percent of the revenue generated by temples goes back towards maintenance and management. The remaining 78 percent fills government coffers. It is also believed that Executive Officers of ‘A’ grade temples don’t deduct tax at source on the payments made to Pradhana Archakas. “The payment made to the Archakas ranges between Rs 25 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and is even more in some cases. The Executive Officers are well aware of the fact that they need to deduct tax at source since they deduct TDS for the employees working under them,” Ravi Kumar says. “This clearly shows that they don’t respect IT Rules. We are all attached to our religion and its culture and request the government to take care of our temples.”

Rohini Sindhuri, commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments said “For all A and B category temples, we have executive officers who take care of all development and infrastructure works. If people find any C category temple in bad condition, devotees can inform the department and we will act accordingly”.

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The lack of transparency in temple affairs has caused a loss to the State government as well as to the Muzrai department. The offerings made by the devotees through various sevas and hundis, are all being misused. Every temple is managed by an executive officer who is directly accountable to the muzrai department.

They pay lakhs of rupees to the Archakas or the officials of Muzrai department, but there is no Tax deducted at Source (TDS) or any tax available for any of the payments received by them. However, they charge exorbitantly for poojas, especially for Sarpa Samskara. Our concern is that there is no tax and hence no accountability for the payment. We wrote a letter to the temple’s executive officer, Muzrai Department about this, but have yet to receive any response from them.

The government guest houses are in terrible condition, languishing without maintenance despite huge amounts being paid to the authorities. Being a government servant, these Muzrai department officials should abide by the laws and responsibility. They should take steps to renovate such structures. Sugreeva temple in Balep