TTD wary of taking care of AP temples

Tirupati: Temples in many districts of Andhra Pradesh are being developed by the politicians in whose constituencies the shrines are located. This way they gain personal mileage within their constituencies which in turn helps them gain political mileage. This is not new phenomenon as it has been happening from the time of the Congress. Most of these temples are being built as shrines of Lord Balaji.  

As a part of this effort, MLAs from ruling parties had several times requested TTD to attach some temples and bring them under the jurisdiction of the TTD. But taking up these temples and maintaining them without gaining too much from them monetarily, is straining the TTD coffers. Now, TTD Senior Officers Welfare Association has requested the Chief Minister Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu a couple of weeks ago to stop attaching temples to TTD. 

With a new board at the TTD in place soon, employees are wary of the new attachment requests that will be made. In the past TTD had taken Gandi Veeranjaneya Temple located in Kadapa district and had undertaken development work worth '50 crore. But later the Government took back the temple management from the TTD. 

The TTD has a special funding programme for all temples in the State. In the last couple of years more than 26 temples have been attached to TTD.