Mahant guns for Baba Balak Nath trust

Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, October 13

Mahant Rajinder Giri, head of the of Chair of the Baba Balak Nath temple, said the temple trust had become a den of corruption.

He said it was unfortunate that as per the temple Act, the governing body of the trust must have five inherited members (from the family lineage of head priest) and three of them must be present at trust meetings to validate the decisions and approvals for the financial sanctions. He said there were only two inherited members. The mahant alleged that any decision taken by the body stood null and void as the body itself was unconstitutional.

The trust should have 20 members, including 10 government officials, five inherited members, one local MLA and four nominated by the government, but the trust had only two inherited members.

The mahant alleged that this arrangement had been done to accommodate some near and dear ones to manipulate financial dealings. He said it was surprising that the trust had installed CCTV cameras on the temple premises but none of the donation counter was under CCTV surveillance, facilitating financial embezzlements. He said the collection from donation would increase by over Rs 5 crore annually if the leakage was plugged.

Rajinder Giri said the trust authorities were also misusing the temple funds. He said despite having over Rs 20 crore, the trust had failed to accommodate even 100 persons in the temple complex. The matter would be brought to the notice of the Governor so that the facilities for devotees could be improved, he added.

Akshay Sood, Chairman of the trust, denied all allegations. He said all financial transactions in the trust were transparent. He said for expenditures, sanctions were sought from the government. The share to the mahant and other shareholders was also given as per the set norms of the temple trust.