Hyderabad: Priests and staff working in temples across the state will have to continue their wait to get salaries through treasury department like the payment for government employees. The TS Cabinet meeting on Friday failed to take a decision on this issue. Instead, it tried to drag the issue further by constituting a cabinet subcommittee to make recommendations on this issue. Surprisingly, the state government constituted an official committee in June 2015 for the same purpose after priests and temples went on a strike on the issue. The committee submitted a report to the government last year, but the administration has been sitting on it since then.
The priests and staff in temples have threatened to go on the strike from this month again if the government failed to act. They had high hopes that Friday's Cabinet meeting would approve their long-pending demand but got an announcement that a Cabinet subcommittee will examine the issue. Endowments minister A. Indrakaran Reddy had even made a statement last week that priests and staff can expect good news on their demands very soon, raising their hopes.
The committee, comprising ministers Tummala Nageshwara Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Jupally Krishna Rao and Nayini Narasimha Reddy, will be headed by Mr Indrakaran Reddy. The committee was also asked to submit a report on the income of temples, lands held by them and under encroachment, checking irregularities in management of temples and misuse of hundi income.
The Cabinet also decided to increase the number of members in temple trusts from nine to 14 for temples with income of over Rs 25 lakh per year, from five to seven members for temples with income of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 25 lakh and increase from three to five members for temples with income of less than Rs 2 lakh.
