34 temples in state under government control but pilgrims still deprived of amenities

The government has taken over the management of most of the major shrines situated in the state that get offerings in crores of rupees every year but no benefit has accrued to devotees till now. In the past 30 years, little change has been seen and much remains to be done to make the pilgrimage of millions of people seeking divine blessings at these shrines safer and comfortable. At present, over 34 temples in the state are under the control of the government.

The major shrines in North India like of Mata Chintpurni, Mata Brajeshwari, Jwalamukhi, Chamunda Mata, Baba Balak Nath at Deotsidh and the ancient Shiva temple at Baijnath are situated in Kangra, Una, and Hamirpur districts, respectively. The state government has also appointed temple officers in these shrines.

The aim of the then Chief Minister Virbadhra Singh in taking over the management of these temples was to develop the state’s shakti peeths on the lines of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, which manages the Vaishno Devi temple near Katra in Jammu and Kashmir. Unfortunately, in the past 30 years, the Himachal Government has not been able to do something similar to Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and the situation has worsened.

The state government had sought guidance from the Tirupati Balaji and Vaishno Devi shrine Boards. Senior government officers had visited various shrines in South and North India to study the working of devasthan boards but not much improvement was made and millions of pilgrims visiting these temples continued to suffer.

Today, most of the temples do not have parking, medical and drinking water facilities and resting places for pilgrims. The government has also not been able to check the exploitation of pilgrims by dubious pujaris and the traffic police.

Besides, the law and order situation has also become a cause for concern. Recently, the brutal attack on pilgrims from Punjab had brought a bad name to the state. The state government has in the past constituted various committees to look into the affairs of the temples. From time to time, these committees had made important recommendations, the majority of which remain only on paper in the absence of political and administrative will.

In 2007, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had also constituted a committee headed by former Chief Secretary BC Negi to look into the issue of proper utilisation of the money offered at these temples listed under the Schedule-I of the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984.

The committee had suggested that there should be a ceiling of only 10 per cent of the offerings for “baridars” and that, too, for 10 years and not for an indefinite period. The committee also made strong observations about the purchase of vehicles from temple funds for Deputy Commissioners, who are also Temple Commissioners, and Sub-Divisional Magistrates. Besides, the temple money should not be diverted for other purposes.

The committee had submitted its recommendations to the court and the government, but to avail. “The money donated in temples belongs to people and therefore it is in the public interest that it is spent properly, intelligently and fairly for the creation of facilities for pilgrims and used in an optimum way,” the court had observed.