Why dissolve Travancore Devaswom Board now, Governor P Sathasivam asks state

Thiruvananthapuram: Governor P. Sathasivam on Monday sought a clarification from the LDF Government on the ordinance it had sent to him for approval on the tenure of the Travancore Devaswom Board members. The Ordinance, which amended the Travancore Cochin Hindu Religious Institutions Act of 1950, truncates the tenure of Board members from three years to two.  Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran visited the Governor later in the day to apprise him of the reasons for issuing the Ordinance. The Governor wanted to know why the existing Board was sought to be dissolved just on the eve of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season. He asked whether this would affect the preparations for the season, which would begin in four days. The minister, his office aide said, told the Governor that the change in the Board’s membership would not affect the preparations for the coming pilgrimage season.

“The preparations are not dependent on the Board members. It is a coordinated activity of various government departments led by the Chief Minister. What’s more, there is also the High Power Committee to supervise the implementation of the Sabarimala Masterplan headed by former Judge S Siri Jagan,” the minister’s aide said. Further, the Governor was told that dissolving a Board just before the pilgrimage season happened every three years. The minister told the Governor that even if the Board were to be dissolved only next year, it would be on the eve of the next ‘mandalam’ season.

“At that point, will anyone argue for extending the Board’s tenure,” the minister’s aide said. Further, the Governor was told that a two-year-tenure had a precedent. The LDF Government had in 2007 reduced the four-year tenure of Travancore Devaswom Board members to two. Later, during the UDF rule, it was made a three-year tenure. An official clarification, however, will be forwarded to the Governor through the Law Department. It will include, besides other aspects, instances of the current Board’s inefficiency and its poor plan fund utilisation.