Use of Baba Balak Nath Temple donation money under review, panel to study working of other trusts

The Baba Balak Nath Temple Trust has started a review of the counting process for donations. The misappropriation of donations offered at Baba Balak Nath Temple at Deotsidh in Hamirpur district was exposed earlier this month. The police have already arrested two employees of the trust after the misappropriation of donations was revealed.

It is learnt that the Deputy Commissioner, who is also Commissioner of the Baba Balak Nath Trust, has constituted a committee under the leadership of Additional Deputy Commissioner Abhishek Garg to study the working of other similar trusts to plug the gaps in the system.

The working of the Baba Balak Nath Trust has remained controversial ever since the government took over the temple management from a trust with the Deputy Commissioner as its Commissioner. A few months ago, there was an issue of the sale of goats by the trust that the devotees had donated to the temple. The misappropriation of currency notes was not a one-time issue but it cropped up after some time and the connivance of temple officials cannot be ruled out.

Meanwhile, Mahant Rajinder Giri, head priest of the temple, has broken his silence over the misappropriation of temple funds. He said that the annual donations of the temple were much more than what were shown as counted every year. He added that the donations could be over Rs 50 crore but the trust accounts never showed this amount.

He questioned the use of the trust funds to honour dignitaries visiting the temple. He said that expensive gifts given to dignitaries was sheer misuse of donations by officials to please their bosses.

“We are studying the working of various temple trusts on development and donation counting fronts so that they could be replicated to improve the working of Baba Balak Nath Temple and stop funds misappropriation,” said Abhishek Garg, Addition Deputy Commissioner. He added a comprehensive report would be submitted to the Deputy Commissioner soon. Garg said that strict instructions had been issued to the temple staff regarding the counting of donations.