Gold row exposes chinks in TTD

Hyderabad: Even as AP chief secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has recommended that the executive officer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) A.K. Singhal be pulled up for the alleged lapses in the transportation of its 1,381 kg of gold from the Punjab National Bank, it has come to light that the vigilance department did not have the slightest inkling that the Rs 400-crore worth gold was to arrive at the treasury on the evening of April 17 — a finding that speaks about the prevailing state of affairs within the TTD, which manages one of the richest temples in the world.

This aspect, along with several other lapses were pointed out by special chief secretary Manmohan Singh, who submitted his inquiry report to Mr Subrahmanyam on Wedn-esday, who in turn has forwarded it to Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, with his recommendations. It remains to be seen whether Mr Naidu will act on Mr Subra-hmanyam’s recommendations.

Sources told the Deccan Chronicle that in his report, Mr Manmohan Singh has blamed the TTD for not keeping track of the 1,381 kg gold and “leaving it entirely to the bank” (Punjab National Bank) without even bothering to monitor its transportation.

“It is the prime duty of the EO to be concerned how the gold is coming back to him and that too during election time. Surprisingly, the vigilance department of the TTD was not even aware that such a large chunk of gold was arriving at the TTD treasury that evening when it is their duty to be in the knowledge of the arrival of gold and even monitor it,” the report says, describing the attitude of TTD officials as “callous, relaxed and taking everything for granted.”

“'There has to be a certain protocol to be followed between the TTD and the bank when transporting gold, which is the property of the TTD. There has to be a sound communication system between the TTD and the bank officials right from the time the transportation of gold commences,” Mr Manmohan Singh said in the report, adding that the transportation cannot be left entirely to the bank.

He had a few words of appreciation for the bank when he stated that “arrangements made by the bank for transportation of gold were up to the mark as they had camouflaged the vehicle in which the gold was kept, the vehicle was GPS tracked, weapons and sharp shooters were travelling with the gold to ensure its safety.”

“In the case of temple archakas, wherein a small piece of jewel drops from the idol, the archakas are penalised. Here, we are talking about 1381 kg gold worth over Rs 400 crore with which the sentiments of so many devotees is attached. The TTD EO and other officials including Vigilance ought to have monitored the transportation constantly, which they did not bother to do. This is being highly insensitive to the concerns of the devotees,” Mr Subrahmanyam is understood to have told Mr Naidu.

Interestingly, Mr Subrahmanyam, who has suggested that the Chief Minister “pull up” Mr Singhal, is understood to have mentioned that “instead of facilitating Manmohan Singh to conduct the enquiry and submit his report, Singhal was busy addressing a press conference, wherein he sounded confident about all facts he placed before the media. But, by the evening, Mr Manmohan Singh had come across several pieces of information which pointed at glaring lapses.”

The gold was briefly seized by election officials in Tamil Nadu on April 17 when the PNB staff was transporting it in a van to Tirupati to hand over to the TTD.

“As per the guidelines, the total responsibility of handing over the gold to the TTD treasury at the administration building, Tirupati, lies purely with the PNB,” Mr Singhalsaid.

Chandrababu Naidu may ignore CS report

Though chief secretary L.V. Subrahmanyam has submitted his report over the TTD gold affair, it is believed that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu may ignore his recommendations, especially the one that TTD executive officer A.K. Singhal be pulled up for the lapses.

Ever since the Election Commission appointed Mr Subrahmanyam as the chief secretary, Mr Naidu has been constantly attacking him, calling as “accused along with Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy” in connection with the Emaar case.

The court had acquitted Mr Subrahmanyam in the case. Following Mr Naidu’s utterances, many senior IAS officers had rallied behind Mr Subrah-manyam.