The Srivani Trust which’s under the administration of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has become a big deal in South India when it comes to Hindu religious welfare. The Srivani Trust has done a lot of work like building temples in poor areas fixing old temples helping with daily rituals and teaching people about religion. This has made the Srivani Trust well known in the Telugu states.
Now the Srivani Trust is in the middle of a big controversy in Andhra Pradesh.
Big Temple Construction Initiative During YSRCP Government
When the YSR Congress Party was in power the Srivani Trust started a project to stop people from changing their religion. They wanted to make Hinduism stronger in areas.
The plan was to build temples in areas to help people learn about their culture and religion. By April 2023 the Srivani Trust had done a lot of work. They had fixed 176 temples and built 2,273 new temples in poor areas. They also gave money to 501 temples every month to help with rituals.
The government at that time thought this was an idea to help people.
VIP Break Darshan Policy Increased Donations
On September 23 2019 TTD made a rule. If people gave ₹10,000 to the Srivani Trust they could visit the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple without waiting in line.
After this rule was made a lot of people started giving money to the Srivani Trust. By May 31 2023 people had given more than ₹861 crore.
The old chairman of TTD, Y. V. Subba Reddy said that 8.25 lakh people visited the temple using the Srivani Trust scheme.
Expansion of Temple Restoration Across South India
The Srivani Trust did not just work in Andhra Pradesh. They also worked in South Indian states like Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Puducherry.
They gave ₹139 crore to fix 127 temples in these areas. They also gave ₹93 crore to fix 176 temples. They planned to build 2,273 temples, which would cost ₹10 lakh each.
Donations Grew Rapidly Between 2019 and 2023
More and more people started giving money to the Srivani Trust.
In 2019 they got ₹26.25 crore in two months. In 2020 they got ₹70.21 crore. In 2021 they got ₹176 crore. In 2022 they got ₹282.64 crore. In 2023 they got ₹268.35 crore.
People who care about religion think that the changes made by the government helped people trust the Srivani Trust more.
Political Controversy Begins Under Coalition Government
When the new government came to power people started criticizing the Srivani Trust.
The new chairman of TTD, B. R. Naidu said that he wanted to close the Srivani Trust. This made a lot of people angry. The government later said that they did not want to close the Srivani Trust.
Allegations Over Temple Construction Contracts
There is a controversy about how the government is giving contracts to build temples using the Srivani Trust money.
The government wants to use ₹750 crore to build 5,000 temples.. People are saying that the government is giving these contracts to their friends without being transparent.
The rules say that any work that costs than ₹5 lakh should be given through a tender process.. Critics say that the government is not following the rules.
Previous Temple Contracts and Cancellation Debate
Before the old government left they had given contracts to build 4,111 temples.
The new government cancelled these contracts. This has made a lot of people angry.
Concerns Over Transparency and Devotee Funds
- People are worried, about how the government’s using the money given by devotees.
- In villages people give money to build temples.. If the government is not transparent this money could be misused.
- People who care about religion are worried that the Srivani Trust is becoming a tool for politicians to make money.
- The old government said that the Srivani Trust was only working for purposes.. Critics say that the trust is now being used for political purposes.
- If the government is not transparent it could hurt the feelings of devotees and people may not trust the temple administration anymore.
