Online room booking at pilgrim centres boosts Karnataka Endowment dept revenue

Hubballi: Karnataka Endowment department is expected to generate revenue of Rs 27.42 crore in the financial year 2025-26 from renting out accommodations online at 12 temples in Karnataka and outside. This will be almost eight times more than its revenue compared to 2021-22, when the 1,703 rooms and 207 dormitories run by the government earned Rs 3.42 crore.

One of the reasons for such a huge jump in revenue collection is department making booking of accommodations online from 2023. Sources say that even with just 60% of accommodations being booked online, the department has turned a loss-making venture into profitable as online booking has prevented pilferage of funds.

At present, only 12 of the 70 temples with choultries that are under the endowment department are allowing booking online. The 306 rooms at Karnataka Bhavan, Tirumala generates the highest revenue for the department. Till October end this year it had earned Rs 9.58 cr and in 2024-25 the revenue was Rs 12.64 cr. There is a waiting list of at least three months to book rooms online for Tirumala. 

“Ever since the introduction of online room booking, a majority of the Endowment department managed stays have started earning profit. Tirumala Karnataka Bhavan, which ill 2022 was seeking Rs two crore for management of rooms, has now Rs 20 crore in its account,” said Basavarajendra H, former Commissioner for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, who introduced the online booking system.  

Officers at the department say that there is a great resistance from temple management and priests against making rooms available for booking online as they fear it would curtail revenue for the management. Allowing booking of all the rooms via online could improve revenue collection and bring transparency, they say.    

“Many times VIPs and the public come to the shrines with recommendation letters from politicians and others. We have to provide accommodation for them, which is why not all the rooms are available for online booking,” said a management member of Kukke Subrahmanya temple, one of the richest temples in the state. Of the 538 rooms available here only 94 are allowed to be booked online. In 2024-25 the temple earned Rs 6.42 cr from renting their rooms, whereas before online booking the temple in Dakshina Kannada district earned only Rs 2.21 cr in 2021-22.

Sources also say that third-party audits of the revenue generated by the state-run choultries have not been conducted for the last five years.

Muzrai Minister Ramalinga Reddy said online booking of rooms has improved the financial conditions of all the 12 choultries. “Not a single paisa earned from these temples is being deposited in the government treasury. The revenue is being used for upgrading the facilities at these places.”

He also rejected the allegations that temple management committees are opposing bringing transparency in booking of rooms and said 90% of the people in the management are service minded and all the 
temple accounts are annually audited.