TTD FD in Tirupati Coop Bank Sparks Row Despite 'Higher' Interest Rates

The TTD strongly defended its decision and claimed that it went through all due processes. “This was evaluated by the finance committee and the TTD trust board,” top sources in the devaswom said.

Sources in the TTD claimed this was not the first instance of the temple body parking funds in a cooperative bank. "TTD has deposits worth approximately Rs 100 crore with the Saptagiri Grameena Bank and the AP Cooperative Bank. Between 2000 and 2004, TTD had fixed deposits with the Tirupati Cooperative Bank, a 100-year-old profit-making entity,” they said.

“The risk is minimal here," a TTD finance department official told Deccan Chronicle.

“While TTD has deposits over Rs 19,000 crore in nationalised banks, the interest rate offered is only 7.8-7.9 per cent. As per guidelines, TTD cannot deposit more than `100 crore in local rural and cooperative banks. Also, the Union finance ministry permits temples to make deposits in rural banks to provide them support.”

Elaborating on the process followed, the official said TTD invited sealed quotations from multiple banks. The 8.4 per cent interest rate offered by the Tirupati Cooperative Bank was the maximum. "We conducted due diligence by calling quotations. Based on the attractive 8.4 per cent rate, the trust board first okayed a `50 crore deposit. We deposited Rs 10 crore after weighing all factors," he explained.

TTD authorities claimed that the decision complied with all regulations laid out in the TTD act and the state endowments act. "This is a one-year fixed deposit," they stressed.

However, opposition parties targeted the temple trust board, questioning the timing of the controversial deposit ahead of the general elections.