Chennai: The state government has informed the Madras high court that the proposal to purchase a Bolero car for the use of HR & CE officials attached to Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore out of temple funds has been dropped.
Additional advocate general made the submission when a PIL filed by advocate B.Jaganath came up for hearing before a division bench comprising Justices M.Sathyanarayanan and P.Rajamanickam.
The bench posted to January 28, 2019 further hearing of the PIL, which sought the framing of guidelines to be followed by all the temple authorities across the state in the matter of purchasing cars and vehicles out of temple funds.
According to advocate B.Jaganath, pursuant to the order of Joint Commissioner, Mylapore, Commissioner of HR & CE accorded permission to buy a Mahindra Bolero Poweer ZLX vehicle for Rs 8.90 lakh out of the temple funds of Mylapore Kabaleeswarar Temple. He came to know through reliable sources that the said order was not restricted to Mylaore Kabali Temple alone but this has been done across all temples.
The trend of splurging and largesse and indulging in buying luxuries for the officials of the HR & CE through temple funds was spreading like a virus all over the state in all the temples and that this was being done out of temple funds. Instead of upgrading and maintaining the temple and using these funds for better facilities for devotees and pilgrims, the officials were indulging in such kinds of extravagance, that too out of temple funds without any checks and balances thinking that they were sitting in ivory towers without any process of transparency and accountability and due to lack of guidelines, Jaganath added.
