Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao has announced that the priests and employees of temples would be given state government pay scales from November.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has announced that the priests and employees of temples would be given state government pay scales from November.
Also, the Dhoop, Deep and Naivedyam program, which is being implemented in 1,805 temples, will be extended to another 3,000 temples in the state.
The CM also said that a Dharmika Parishad was being formed to supervise and monitor temple-related issues.
At a meeting with archakas (priests) who came from all over the state, at Pragati Bhavan on Friday, the CM said, "After Independence, atrocities took place on a large scale on temples, and the governments did not give them even a single acre. The governments were indifferent when temple lands were being encroached upon by unscrupulous land sharks. And this injustice was more in the Telangana region. Our temples were not treated as temples or our pushkarams were not treated as pushkarams. Nobody took any interest in the development of the temples in our region.
"After statehood for Telangana, we have paid more attention to the temples' development, and to the problems faced by archakas and brahmins. We are taking one measure after another for the development of temples. We are developing the Yadadri, Vemulawada and Bhadradri temples, and other major temples, in a planned manner. In the past, 1,805 temples were given Rs 2,500 per month for the Dhoop, Deep and Naivedyam rituals. The Telangana government has increased it to Rs 6,000 per month. We will also give the same Rs 6,000 to another 3,000 temples in the state."
"Though archakas enjoy respect in society, in reality a majority of them are finding it difficult to eke out a living. Parents do not even give their daughters as brides to those working as archakas. The archakas' salaries are dependent on the temple managements, and they are at the mercy of others. Now there will be a drastic change in that situation. From now, archakas and other temple employees, numbering 5,625, will get their salaries on the 1st of every month like any other government employee does. They will get salaries at the pay scale of comparable government employees. Pay scales will be implemented from November this year. Whenever the PRC report is implemented for the state government employees, the temple employees' salaries will also be revised," the CM said amidst thunderous applause from the gathering.
"The situation of government bossing over the temples should also go. This is the reason we are forming a Dharmika Parishad to take care of temple administration and reducing the government's role. For the welfare of brahmins we have launched the Brahmin Welfare Parishad with a Rs 100-crore fund. We are launching new programs under this Parishad. The problems faced by archakas and brahmins should be brought to the notice of the Parishad," the CM said.
"Statistics show there are about 83,000 acres under the temples. The government will take special action to protect these lands. Archakas should concentrate more on the temple administration and other divine duties," the CM added.
Ministers A Indrakaran Reddy, T Harish Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Tummala Nageswara Rao and Nayani Narasimha Reddy, MP Laxmikantha Rao, Government's advisor K V Ramanachary, MLCs Puranam Satish, Karne Prabhakar and Srinivas Reddy, Endowments Commissioner Shivshankar and Joint Commissioner Krishnaveni and others were present. Copies of the GOs pertaining to the decisions mentioned above were distributed among the brahmin community leaders and archakas.