At a press conference this morning, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust members addressed various issues regarding the management, assets and value of the Trust.
The members of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust held a press conference from 11am to 12:40pm this morning, wherein they addressed various issues regarding the management of the Trust, that has been the talk of the towm since the hospitalisation of the late spiritual leader, Sathya Sai Baba.
The 8 members who were present at the conference included the CMD of TVS Motors Venu Srinivasan, Naganand, former IAS officer K Chakravarthy and Sathya Sai Baba's nephew J Ratnakar.
Srinivasan, a trustee who had earlier served as the President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), led the conference. The members first observed silence for 2 minutes in respect of Sathya Sai, and then went ahead with the press meet.
Srinivasan started off by apologising to the media personnel present for not having held a press meet earlier, and explained that they were pre-occupied with Baba's health condition.
He said that the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust is a public charitable trust that was founded by Baba in 1972 to provide educational and medical facilities to the poor. Sri Sathya Sai Medical Trust, which was taken over by the Central Trust in December 2010, and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning were introduced as the 2 associate trusts that ensured that the mission of Sathya Sai Baba was carried out.
Srinivasan revealed that the following were the assets that were controlled by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust:
1) 2 super-speciality hospitals - one each in Puttaparthi, AP, and Whitefield, Bengaluru
2) 2 general hospitals - one each in Puttaparthi, AP, and Whitefield, Bengaluru
3) 2 schools for higher education - one each in Rajahmundry and Puttaparthi
4) A new educational institution in Muddenahalli, Karnataka, that will open its gates to students soon
5) Sri Sathya Sai Airport, sprawling over an area of 150 acres, that was built in 1991 for the use of his devotees
6) 115 acres of land in Ananthapur and 38 acres in Bengaluru for educational and medical purposes
7) Sri Satya Sai Vidyagiri Campus in Puttaparthi that occupies 60 acres of land
8) Prashanti Nilayam that stands on 17 acres of land
9) 3 acres of land in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu
10) A community hall named Sri Sathya Sai Nigamagamam in Hyderabad, that occupies 3.5 acres of land
11) A community hall named Sri Sathya Sai Samskruta Sadanam in Bengaluru
12) Sri Sathya Sai International Centre For Human Values on Lodhi Road, New Delhi
Srinivasan went on to explain that the super-speciality and general hospitals run by the Trust served the poor and the needy, regardless of their religion or caste. He proudly stated that the hospitals housed all the departments any other medical facility would have, except the billing department.
While the hospital in Puttaparthi was established in 1991 at a cost of Rs. 65 crores, the hospital in Whitefield was established in 2001 at an expenditure of Rs. 130 crores.
He stated that all the property controlled by the Trust was used for charitable purposes, and that the Trust never indulged in any sort of commercialisation.
He also informed the media personnel present that the Trust had undertaken drinking water projects in various districts of AP (including Anantapur, East Godavari and West Godavari) and in Chennai. The projects in AP were handed over to the government a year after they were taken up by the Trust. Rs. 500 crores had been spent on the Chennai drinking water project between 1995 and 2010.
The media, he said, has been grossly exaggerating the value of the Trust and there was no truth in the allegations. '
He said that the Trust's treasury was the amalgamation of the generous donations of the devotees of the Baba. He revealed that Rs. 100-130 crores had flowed into the treasury from Baba's followers in over 160 countries, over the last 4 years. The total expenditure of the Trust during the said time period amounts to Rs. 75-100 crores per year.
Srinivasan also said that 1,000 people (including doctors, nurses and paramedics) were employed in the medical institutions of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, while 250 were employed in the educational facilities.
He clarified that the devotees of Baba have set up numerous institutions all over India, and that the Trust has nothing to do with the administration of these institutions.
He said that the accounts of the Trust were recorded in the Book of Accounts by a reputed Chartered Accountant, and that the book was duly audited in Delhi and all applicable taxes were paid.
He concluded his address by stating that all the members of the Trust carried impeccable credentials, and that they beleved in Baba's phrase, "Manava Sevaye Madhava Seva".
The members then fielded questions from the media personnel present.
Responding to questions regarding the treatment that Baba had received during his final days, the Trust members said that Baba had never spoken to them about his health-related issues. As Baba was himself an authority on medicine, having cured his devotees of diseases such as cancer and TB, no one could ever advice him on his health.
He said that Baba himself had chosen the doctors who would treat him, and that the Trust members were unaware of the doctors' assessment of him. During the 28 days of hospitalisation, it was the doctors who had taken all the major calls regarding Baba's treatment, and not the Trust, Srinivasan said.
Laying to rest the rumours that the glass casket which was used to cover Baba's mortal remains was ordered before April 4th, Srinivasan said that the casket was sent by a devotee after Baba's death. He clearly stated that the Trust did not place any order for a casket.
Explaining the present structure of the Trust, he said that 9 members were involved in the functioning of the Trust. While 5 members comprised the Board of Trustees, the remaining 4 formed the Council of Management. All the 9 people involved were hand-picked by the Baba. The Board of Trustees manage the properties and the activities of the Trust.
Thus far, Baba had controlled the cash-flow from the treasury, but now the 2 secretaries will be required to sign a cheque for it to be valid, said Srinivasan.
However, the 2 secretaries who would sign such cheques have not been appointed yet. The members of the Trust say that they are still traumatized by Baba's death, and that they will need some time to finalise such details.
Evading a question about the actual value of the Trust, a member said that it was subjective, and that he could not assign a numerical figure to it.
Responding to a question regarding the allegations that J Ratnakar and Satyajit did not see eye-to-eye, Ratnakar stated that he was on agreeable terms with Satyajit. The Trust members clarified that Baba had never said that Satyajit must be a part of the Trust, and that he was only an employee of the Trust.
Srinivasan declared the press meet closed at 12:45pm, stemming the flow of questions from the journalists. The media personnel rushed to the podium to have their questions answered.