Cabinet meet on MM Hills on Feb 17: All’s not well in hill shrine

Mysuru: Even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is scheduled to chair a Cabinet meeting at Male Mahadeshwara (MM) Hills in Hanur taluk of Chamarajanagar, to address the issues of the region, there seems to be a few problems in the MM Hills itself.

Devotees say, all is not well in the hill shrine and the temple authorities are more worried about the interest of the contractors and businessmen, rather than that the people.

Hike in fee

In reply to a Right to Information (RTI) application by an activist, M R Sharath of Siddartha Nagar, in Malavalli town, Mandya district, Sri Malai Mahadeshwara Swamy Kshethra Development Authority has given information that the fee for tonsuring of devotees has been increased from Rs 50 to Rs 80, with effect from July 1, 2024, following a decision made in a meeting chaired by Chamarajanagar District in-charge Minister, on June 26, 2024.

The earlier tender had ended on October 31, 2023. The revision of the fee will be in effect up to August 30, 2026. Chittoor-based Sri Garuda Enterprises from Andhra Pradesh has procured e-tender for Rs 2.65 crore, for two years, from July 2024.

In the covering letter of the information provided, dated January 22, the deputy secretary of the authority has mentioned that ‘there was no request from either an organisation or a contractor for a revision of the fee for tonsuring’.

Importance of MM Hills

MM Hills is a prominent pilgrimage place in the old Mysuru region. On special days like full-moon day, new-moon day, and festivals, lakhs of people visit the temple and make generous offerings. The devotees are not just from the Mysuru region, but also from Ramanagar, Bengaluru, Kolar, Hassan and Tumakuru districts and also from Tamil Nadu. In January, over a period of 30 days, up to January 22, the total collection of the temple was Rs 2.29 crore in cash, besides 18 gram gold and 1.2 kg silver.

February 26, Maha Shivaratri, will see a sea of devotees here.

In response to another application under RTI Act, by M G N Shankar of Tavaregere in Mandya city, the deputy secretary of the authority, in the covering letter, dated December 6, 2024, has stated that no complaint was received from devotees about demand for additional money, by employees in the tonsuring section, over the fee of Rs 80.

However, a year before that, on October 10, 2023, then secretary of the authority Saraswathi had conducted a raid on the enclosure dedicated for tonsuring, on the basis of complaints over telephone and on social media. The devotees complained that the employees were extracting Rs 50 to Rs 100 in addition to the fee. This was widely covered in the media, the next day.

As per the condition, 10 of the agreement, between the authority and the contractor for tonsuring, the latter (M C Narasimhulu) has agreed that his tender can be cancelled, without even issuing a notice, if additional money is extracted from devotees of if his staff misbehave with the devotees.

Even though the authority is in existence for over a decade since September 1, 2014, no staff have been recruited under Section 12(1) of Sri Malai Mahadeshwara Swamy Kshethra Development Authority Act. All staff, except secretary and deputy secretary, are hired on contract, even though the average monthly revenue is over Rs 2 crore.

The secretary and deputy secretary are on deputation from the Karnataka State government. This information has been provided on October 30, in response to an application by M R Sharath.

Misuse of VIP and VVIP darshan

In response to another RTI application, by M R Sharath, on the misuse of VIP and VVIP darshan of the deity, through gate number four of the temple, and the circular related to the protocol for VIP and VVIP darshan, the deputy secretary, on September 13, 2024, states that steps should be taken for VIP and VVIP darshan as per protocol. But, he has not provided the circular, related to it.