Date:02/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/02/stories/2004050202780400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Drought hits lease of temple lands, rituals

By B. Chandrashekhar

ANANTAPUR, MAY 1. The severe drought conditions prevailing in the district in the last four-five years have crippled several temples financially, forcing them to forgo even regular rituals.

Also affected is the leasing of temple lands, which is one of the main sources of temples' income. People are not willing to take lands on lease as the hopes of getting returns are diminishing every year due to the adverse climatic conditions.

Only the temple at Kadiri (Narasimha Swamy), Kasapuram (Anjaneya Swamy temple) and Uravakonda (Gavi Matham) are self-reliant financially and all other temples in the district are depending on the meagre funds trickling in from the Government for their survival.

"Payment of even electricity charges has become a burden for us as temples are being put in the commercial category,'' an official of one of the temples facing financial crunch in the Uravakonda area, said. The department's plea to the Government to subsidise power supply to temples has drawn a blank so far.

According to sources in the district Endowments Department, the only source of income for a majority of temples under the purview of the department is through the sale of various `seva' tickets and `hundi.' As a result, the temples are mainly surviving on the interest amount from the funds deposited in the banks.

Managing the salaries of the temple staff, preparing `prasadam' and conducting festivities from the internal income has become burdensome for the temple managements. In such circumstances, the Scheduled Castes Corporation has come forward to procure about 5,000 acres of endowments lands in the district for distribution among the landless SCs.

The department is likely to get a compensation of about Rs. 6 crores in lieu of handing over the lands to the Government. The amount would kept in fixed deposit in the name of temple committees concerned. All temples have landholdings of about 28,000 acres put together in the district.

Leasing of temple lands has become difficult in the absence of any irrigation facility. Against the proposal to lease out 9,435.30 acres this year, the department has been able to lease out only about 722 acres to 119 tenants for an amount of Rs. 11.34 lakhs. In all, about 1,394 acres endowments lands are under tenancy to 235 tenants.

"Response to the auction notices given by various temples has been very poor this year due to prolonged drought,'' said a field officer of the department. In spite of financial hardships the department has sanctioned funds for renovation and reconstruction works in seven temples in the district this year from the Common Good Fund.

There are 250 temples with below Rs. 50,000 income per annum, 14 temples with above Rs. 50,000 income per annum and three temples with more than Rs. one lakh income per annum in the district.