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Chennai, Oct 12 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister PK Shekhar Babu on Sunday said the state government has sanctioned Rs 425 crore for the restoration and protection of temples over a thousand years old.
He said as part of Chief Minister MK Stalin’s efforts to preserve the spiritual heritage of Tamil Nadu, 68 such temples have already been renovated using government, temple and donor funds.
Shekhar Babu met Handloom and Textiles Minister R. Along with Gandhi, 53.386 kg of unused gold from four temples in Kanchipuram district was handed over to State Bank of India (SBI) regional manager Senthil Kumar.
The gold was collected from the Mumbai-based plant of the Kanchi Kamakshi Amman, Kundrathur Subramaniam Swamy, Thiruvidanthai Nithya Kalyana Perumal, and Thirumalai Vayyavur Prasanna Venkatesh Perumal temple governments and deposited under the Gold Monetization Scheme.
The event was organized in the presence of retired Supreme Court judge Justice Duraiswami Raju.
After the handover, the ministers planted saplings at the ancient Ekambaranathar temple and inspected the ongoing restoration works at a cost of Rs 29 crore. Officials were directed to expedite the work so that the revival (Kumbabhishekam) could be conducted on December 8. The renovation of the temple is being financed through Rs 12.75 crore from the state government, Rs 8.99 crore from the Commissioner’s Welfare Fund, Rs 6.84 crore from the temple fund and Rs 41 lakh from donors.
Speaking to reporters, Shekhar Babu said that since the DMK came to power, a “golden age for spiritual administration” has begun, with 3,707 temples already renovated according to Agama principles.
He said the Gold Monetization Project of the HR&CE Department has been implemented under the supervision of retired judges Justice Duraiswamy Raju, Justice Ravichandra Babu and Justice Selvi Mala. So far, 1,074.123 kg of pure gold collected from 21 temples has been deposited with SBI, earning Rs 17.76 crore in annual interest, which is reinvested in temple development.
Another 378.619 kg of unused gold from 13 temples is set to be melted, including the 53.386 kg that was handed over on Sunday.
The minister said public contribution for temple projects has reached a record Rs 1,528 crore across 11,845 projects during the tenure of the DMK government. The department has issued 844 government orders since 2021, of which 65 percent have been implemented. He said the government was taking a compassionate approach towards the residents on the temple land by regularizing the occupation and collecting appropriate rent as per the policy of late Chief Minister Kalaignar Karunanidhi.
He said that dues of about Rs 650 crore have been recovered.
There are also plans to set up systematic parking near the temples in Kanchipuram, while the Rs 9 crore golden chariot for the Nanganallur Anjaneyar temple will be ready by January 2026.
The golden chariot for the Kanchi Ekambaranathar temple will also be completed soon. Joint Commissioner Vanamathi will be appointed as a special officer to monitor the restoration works of the temple.
–IANS
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