Hyderabad: The endowments department has served charge memos on six executive officers and 12 other staff working at the Basara Saraswati temple for siphoning off temple funds, following a vigilance inquiry.
The inquiry report was submitted to endowments minister A. Indrakaran Reddy, who ordered departmental proceedings and recovery the funds from the errant staff.
The inquiry revealed that officials and staff manipulated financial records and claimed refunds on bogus or inflated bills. Bills were created multiple times for the same work.
Mr Reddy brushed aside allegations that crores of funds had been siphoned off. “The temple earns Rs 12.50 crore per year on average. It spends around Rs 12 crore towards salaries and maintenance,” Mr Reddy said.
They deposit the balance of around Rs 40 lakh in banks. The complaints of siphoning of Rs 100 crore does not arise,” he added. “But then, irregularities are irregularities even if they siphoned off lakhs.
“Such instances will bring disrepute to temples and hurt the sentiments of devotees, which the government will not tolerate,” he said. Opposition parties alleged that the minister was shielding the culprits. They also alleged the involvement of Mudhole MLA G. Vittal Reddy, who defected from the Congress to the TRS. The minister dismissed it as mud-slinging.
