The Tirupati Press Club’s media fact-finding committee has submitted its report on the Sri Venkateswara Aalaya Nirmanam Trust (Srivani). The committee defended the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) against accusations of misusing funds received from devotees through the Srivani scheme.
The Srivani scheme allows devotees to have a special darshan by making a donation of Rs 10,000 or paying Rs 500 for a VIP special darshan. The Srivani Trust was established on August 28, 2018, and was officially launched on September 23, 2019, under the guidance of JEO Dharma Reddy.
In recent months, there have been allegations that the TTD has been misusing the funds and awarding contracts to a select few. To address these concerns, the TTD issued a white paper on June 22, 2023, and invited opposition parties in the State to verify its accounts. On July 31, 2023, the TTD allowed a media group to verify the implementation of the Srivani scheme for six months. The committee examined data up to December 31, 2023, and shared its observations and suggestions based on their findings and discussions with devotees.
Observations:
– Receipts were issued for the total amount (Rs 10,500) paid by each devotee.
– So far, 10 lakh devotees have had darshan under Srivani.
– Rs 1,085.84 crore has been deposited in TTD accounts.
– Rs 831.16 crore is in fixed deposits, and Rs 33.57 crore is in savings accounts.
– TTD has earned an interest of Rs 59.08 crore.
– Rs 221.11 crore has been spent on temple construction.
– The remaining funds are safely held in nationalized banks.
– Rs 464.14 crore has been approved for the construction of 3,635 temples.
– 722 works have been completed, and 2,913 are in progress.
Suggestions:
– TTD should maintain the cap of 1000 tickets per day.
– TTD should provide more frequent updates to devotees regarding the trust’s financial position.
