Hyderabad: The state govt has amended the Telangana Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act of 1987 to establish a dedicated board for the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple in Yadagirigutta, similar to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
Endowments minister Konda Surekha explained to the media that while the amendment allows for the creation of a temple board, unlike TTD, which is autonomous, the Yadagirigutta board will remain under the state govt’s control.
The amendment also allows for the formation of trust boards for temples with annual revenues exceeding Rs 100 crore. Currently, only two temples meet this criterion: Yadagirigutta’s Narasimha Swamy temple and Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy Devasthanam in Vemulawada.
Additionally, the amendment aims to reform the hereditary trustee system by ensuring hereditary trustees are included as members on the newly-formed temple boards. The govt is empowered to implement these changes under section 151 of the Act.
The revision will also categorise temples into A, B, and C based on their income. Key govt officials, including the chief secretary or principal secretary of the endowments department, will be part of these boards. Notably, the Yadadri temple currently generates the highest annual income of Rs 230 crore, followed by the Vemulawada temple at Rs 160 crore.
Meanwhile, Surekha expressed gratitude to the Andhra Pradesh government for its decision to allow VIP darshan based on recommendation letters from Telangana’s public representatives. She recently urged AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu to ensure strict enforcement of the previous agreement to honour these letters from Telangana officials.