JOIN USAn audit report by former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai found major systemic deficiencies in managing the huge wealth of Kerala's famed Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple, including loss of 769 gold pots weighing 776 kg and valued at Rs 186 crore.
The temple did not have the system of ascertaining weight and purity of gold and silver articles before handing them over to contractors for melting and purification for ornamentation, it noted.
There was also no system of maintaining inventory of precious articles of gold, silver and other metals, it added.
The former CAG was asked by the Supreme Court on April 24, 2014 to conduct a special audit of the temple, known for its huge treasures. He found that 30% of the gold sent for melting and purification was lost in the process. The report submitted by him to the apex court in March this year found no system of periodic physical verification of the precious items in the temple.
It stated, “The present administrative structure in the temple is weak. It has been created on ad hoc need and, hence, is neither comprehensive nor effective.”
It recommended forming a seven-member administrative committee headed by a retired all-India rank service officer, not below the rank of secretary, as chairman for “able governance”.
Such a committee, also comprising Travancore royal family and thantry (priest), would supervise all temple activities and pass annual budget as well. It also suggested better accounting as the lack of it proved a major administrative lacuna.
The report also favoured ensuring better facilities for the devotees and construction of guestrooms, restrooms, dormitory and toilets, besides adequate security in the temple.