Insta
Devaswom Board Directs Temples To ‘Donate’ For Kerala Flood Relief, ‘On What Authority’ Asks Kerala High Court
Parthasarathy Temple, Guruvayur (pic via Facebook)
In a severe blow to the state governments excesses, Kerala High court today quashed the order of Commissioner, Malabar Devaswom Board that directed temples under it to donate to the Chief Minister Disaster Relief Fund reports Malayalam-daily Deepika.
The commissioner of Malabar Devaswom Board had earlier directed to collect Rs 5 lakh each from 22 temples, Rs 2.5 lakhs from two temples each, and Rs 1 lakh each from the remaining 33 temples reported Janmabhumi.
‘On what authority does the commissioner issue such a directive?’ asked the High Court. Donations to disaster relief fund cannot be done through extortion, the court observed while dismissing the order.
Earlier a scion of the Travancore royal family has said that if the treasures of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram were to be used for flood relief and rehabilitation works mosques and churches should contribute too.
The comments come in the wake of demands on social media that the treasures of the temple be utilised for rehabilitation work in Kerala, which has been ravaged by floods since July. The suggestion has almost been equally welcomed and opposed.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
