‘SRIVANI Trust funds meant only for Hindu shrines’

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister A Ramnarayan Reddy on Monday said SRIVANI Trust funds are not used for constructing Shirdi Sai Baba temples because he was not one of the earliest deities mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures and religious texts.

Sri Venkateswara Aalayala Nirmanam Trust (SRIVANI Trust) belongs to TTD and it works for the construction and maintenance of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temples across India.

During a press conference on the achievements of the Endowments Department in the past two years, Reddy noted that funds belonging to Hindu temples will not be spent on building Shirdi Sai Baba temples, which “do not follow Hindu shastra (religious) standards.”

“Hence, if you look in our ancient scriptures and religious books, from the beginning, Shirdi Sai did not figure in those texts…Funds which belong to Hindu temples will be spent only for the protection of Hindu temples,” he said.

According to the Endowments Minister, Shirdi Sai Baba temples do not fall under the purview of the Endowments Department as Vedic programmes in those temples are “not carried out adhering to Hindu shastra standards.”

Clarifying that the Endowments Department works only for Hindu temples and their protection, Reddy said it is meant only for the protection of the Sanatana Dharma (Hinduism) and the deities mentioned in the Vedic and Agama shastras (Hindu religious texts).

However, he highlighted that there are several Hindu and non-Hindu devotees for Shirdi Sai Baba, who have the wherewithal to extend financial help to Shirdi Sai Baba temples. So, those (Shirdi Sai Baba) temples are developing and they are sustaining them, he said.

Further, he said the state government has allocated over Rs 800 crore for the development of nearly 700 neglected ancient temples in the state. Reddy said the funds for developing these temples were sanctioned under ‘Sarvasreyonidhi' scheme.

“We have created history by allotting Rs 813 crore under Sarvyasreyonidhi to develop 692 neglected ancient temples,” he said.

The Endowments Minister said the department has set a target to build 5,000 Srivani Bhajan Mandirs' (places for worship) at a cost of Rs 750 crore with cooperation from TTD, the official custodian of Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati.

Of the proposed target, Reddy said approvals were granted for 1,270 Srivani Bhajan Mandirs' with an allocation of Rs 267 crore.

According to the minister, the annual allocation for dhoopa deepa naivedya' scheme (rituals such as lighting lamps, smoke and others) in 6,137 temples across the state have been doubled to Rs 73 crore from Rs 35 crore.

Further, he said the Endowments Department has started blockchain based digitalisation of nearly 4.5 lakh acres land belonging to 22,672 temples to protect them.

Across 111 temples in the southern state, Reddy said the government is extending Annaprasada Vitarana' (free food) to three crore devotees annually.

Devotees footfalls in majors temples rose by 70 percent in the past two years. People's faith in temples has increased, he said.

With the aim to conduct Godavari Pushkaralu (pilgrimage along the Godavari river) on the lines of the Kumbh Mela, Reddy said 162 development works were started at a cost of Rs 72 crore. Godavari Pushkaralu will commence from June 26, 2027, Reddy added.