Vidhan Sabha Question

Name of Department : Department of Language, Art & Culture Starred Question No. : 1226 Date of Reply : 08-08-2014 Subject : Temples under the control of the Government. Asked by : Smt. Asha Kumari (Dalhousie) Concerned Minister : Chief Minister Question Reply (a) presently how many temples are (a) (b) (c) and (d) under the control of Government in The information has been , list be laid on placed on the table of the table of the House; House. (b) whether temple-wise list of all valuables is available as an inventory with the Government; (c) on 15th July, 2014 what is the total quantity of gold and silver lying in the temples of the State; and (d) what is the total income of all Government controlled temples in last 3 years; temple-wise details be given?

Information pertaining to Vidhan Sabha Assembly Question Starred No. 1226 asked by Smt. Asha Kumari, Hon’ble MLA (Dalhousie) in respect of Temples under the control of the Government.

(a) 29 temples are included in Schedule-I of the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowments Act, 1984. Details of the temples are at Annexure ‘A. (b) Under the provisions of law (Section 6 of the above referred Act), the concerned Religious Institution is responsible for preparation and maintenance of a Register showing amongst other things the details of moveable and immoveable properties (Annexure ‘B’) of the Temple. (c) The total quantity of gold and silver in the Scheduled temples as on 15-07-2014 is given below: Gold Silver Qt Kg Grm Mg Qt Kg Grm Mg 4 58 363 525 158 80 454 388 Temple-wise details are at Annexure ‘A’. (d) Details of the income of the Scheduled Temples for the last three years are at Annexure ‘A’.

Annexure-“A”

Question No. 1226, for Temples under the control of the Government asked by Smt. Asha Kumari, Hon’ble Member of Legislative Assembly List of Temples included in Schedule 1 of the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowment Act, 1984.

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) District Bilaspur Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 1 Shri Temple, 01 48 907 035 56 85 434 619 14,29.55 18,29.65 18,01.59 5060.79 Naina Devi, Distt Bilaspur

2 Shri Shahtalai Group of 0 0 134 540 - 6 133 570 1,60.46 2,18.49 2,17.70 596.65 Temples I) Main Mandir Baba Balak Nath Shah Talai 2) Second Temple Baba Balak Nath Shah Talai 3) Temple Vat Vriksh Shahtalai 4) Temple Gurna Jhari Shahtalai

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold * Silver * (Income in lacs) Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 3 Group of Temples, Bilaspur ------12.02 13.20 13.13 38.35 I) Sh. Hanuman Mandir, Diara ------2) Sh. Laxmi Narayan Mandir 3) Sh.Maharishi Ved

Vyas Goofa Mandir ------

District Chamba

4 Laxmi Narayan Mander, The information is awaited. Chamba

5 Sh. Manimahesh, The information is awaited. Bharmour, Distt. Chamba

District Hamirpur

6 Temple Baba Balak - 22 195 118 02 68 956 76 14,60.31 18,92.60 19,32.33 5285.24 Nath Deothsidh, Distt. Hamirpur

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) District Kangra Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 7 Jawalamukhi Temple at - 37 531 279 01 289 670 100 6,72.77 9,93.17 8,72.12 2538.06 Jawalamukhi, Kangra

8 Brajeshwari Devi Temple - 28 666 900 - 959 678 550 3,47.67 4,71.81 4,41.36 1260.84 at Kangra

9 Mandir Damtal at Damtal, ------94.21 1,32.74 2,84.23 511.18 Distt. Kangra

10 Shri Badri Vishal Via ------7.21 2.17 7.85 17.23 atterian and Nar Singh Dev Temple, Nagrota Surian Distt,. Kangra

11 Shri Ashta Bhuja Mata ------Temple Bohan near Jawala Mukhi, Distt. Kangra

12 Chamunda Nandikeshwar - 15 627 748 05 35 105 322 2,75.08 3,92.34 3,60.25 1027.67 Mandir Distt. Kangra & Addi Himani Mandir Chamunda.

13 Durveshwar manadev - - 3 - - 05 28 - 26.25 24.56 24.62 75.43 Temple and Bhagsu Nag Temple at Distt. Kangra

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 14 Temples of Baijnath Sub - - 644 789 - 54 961 544 56.81 94.22 90.16 241.19 Division 1) Shri Shiv Mandir, Baijnath 2) Shri Mahakal Mandir, Baijnath District Mandi

15 Sh. Hanogi Mata Mandir, - 01 60 47 - 63 60 14 1,11.76 1,28.50 1,33.94 374.20 Hangoi Sub Tehsil, Aut, Distt Mandi

District Shimla

16 Tara Devi Temple at Tara - 1 115 82 1 67 204 476 69.88 78.85 79.98 228.71 Devi, Distt. Shimla

17 Mata Temple at - 7 131 - - 70 - - 76.36 95.61 1,06.12 278.09 Hatkoti, Distt. Shimla

18 Bhima Kali Ji Temple, - 03 875 803 - 05 796 248 39.50 40.74 44.27 124.51 Shri Raghunath ji, Shri Nar Singh Ji Located at Sarahan, Shri Lankda Devta ji Distt. Shimla

19 Hanuman Temple at - - 324 - - 42 - - 59.21 81.71 59.43 200.35 Jakhoo, Distt. Shimla Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 20 Ajodya Nath Temple at ------Income shown in shri Bhima Rampur Distt. Shimla kali temple (Sh. Raghu Nath ji, Bara/Lambu Akhra Dashalni, Sh. Raghu Nath ji, Bara Akhra , Rampur, Sh. Narsingh mandir, Rampur, Sh Raghu nath ji, ChoBacha Mandir Rampur, Sh Janki Mai Goofa,and Sh. Bodh Mandir Rampur)

21 Dattarya Swami Temple ------Income shown in shri Bhima at Dutt Nagar Distt. kali temple Shimla

22 Shri Durga Temple Sharai - 05 126 439 - 34 588 766 8.28 2.96 9.27 20.51 Koti Rampur, Bushehar Distt. Shimla

23 Sh. Devta Bijat Maharaj - 1 810 - - 11 300 - 6.14 5.53 3.29 14.96 Mandir, Sarahan, The Chopal, Distt. Shimla

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 24 Sh.Sankat Mochan - - 101 41 - 11 151 35 54.25 74.46 72.56 201.27 Mandir Taradevi

District Sirmour

25 Temple Thakur Dwara ------6.25 8.07 5.30 19.62 Dei Ji Sahiba Ponta Distt. Sirmour

26 Shri Mahamaya - 11 575 - 16 29 599 - 5,54.80 5,76.72 5,52.37 1683.89 Balasunderiji Mandir, , Distt Sirmour, H.P.

District Solan

27 Shri Suleni Mata Mandir, - - 475 12 - 29 903 - 30.65 45.57 39.45 115.67 Solan, Distt. Solan, Himachal Pradesh

Sr. Name of Hindu Total Quantity of Gold & Silver as on 15-07-14 Detail of income of the last three years i.e. No. Public Religious 1-01-11 to 31-12-13 (In lacs) Institutions and Charitable Endowments 1 2 3 4 Gold Silver (Income in lacs) District Una Qt Kg Gms Mg Qt Kg Gms Mg 2011 2012 2013 Total 28 Temple at 01 72 59 692 59 10 884 068 23,15.72 31,71.85 29,15.96 8403.53 Chintpurni Distt. Una

29 ------This Temple is included in Scheduled-I temple list vide Sh. Mahashiv Mandir, letter No. LCD-F(1)-15/2011- Loose, dated: 26-02-2014. The Shivbadi (Ambota), matter is subjudice and the Teh. Amb, Distt. Una operation of the notification is stayed in CMP No.3343/14 under Order dated 21.3.2014 of the Hon’ble High Court.

4 58 363 525 158 80 454 388 7875.14 10375.52 10067.28 28317.94

** Denotes Q for quintal, Gg for Kilograms, Gms for Grams, Mg for Miligrams.

Annexure ‘B’

Starred D.No.1226 asked by Smt. Asha Kumari, Hon’ble MLA (Dalhousie) in respect of Temples under the control of the Government.

Details to be included in the Register to be prepared and maintained by Religious Institutions under Section 6 of Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowments Act, 1984.

Section 6 of the above referred Act requires the preparation and maintenance of a Register by the concerned Religious Institution showing the following amongst other details:

“(d) the money, jewels, gold, silver, precious stones, vessels and utensils and other movables belonging to the Institution, with their weights, details of the constituent elements and estimated value thereof: (e)Particulars of immovable properties and all other endowments of the institution and all title deeds and other documents;”

Material for possible Supplementary in respect of Vidhan Sabha Assembly Question Starred D.No. 1226 asked by Smt. Asha Kumari, Hon’ble MLA (Dalhousie) regarding temples under the control of the Government.

1. Scheduled temples in H.P.

The Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions & Charitable Endowments Act, 1984 came into force w.e.f. 06-08-1984. So far 29 temples have been included in Schedule-I of the Act. The list of temples is at Annexure A. Temples are included in Schedule-I to provide for better administration and for protection and preservation of properties appertaining to such Institutions and endowments.

2. Superintendence and control of Temples.

The Deputy Commissioner of the concerned district has been appointed as Commissioner (Temple). Section 5 of the Act provides that the administration of all Hindu public religious institutions and charitable endowments shall be under the general superintendence and control of the Commissioner. 3. Inventory of Temple Valuables:

Responsibility of Temple to maintain Inventory Section 6 of the Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act provides for preparation and maintenance of a Register by the concerned Religious Institutions. It is the responsibility of the concerned Institution to prepare and maintain a Register indicating amongst other things the movable and immovable property of the Temple. The following property related details are to be contained in the Register as per the provision of the Act. “(d) the money, jewels, gold, silver, precious stones, vessels and utensils and other movables belonging to the Institution, with their weights, details of the constituent elements and estimated value thereof: (e)Particulars of immovable properties and all other endowments of the institution and all title deeds and other documents;”

Other provisions wrt Maintenance of Registers The Act further provides as under: i. The Register is to be prepared, signed and verified by the Trustee of the Institution concerned by his authorized Agent. ii. The Trustee or his Agent is required to swear an affidavit that the list of properties movable and immovable as owned by the Institution and as shown in the Register is complete. iii. The Register is to be submitted to the Commissioner for approval. iv. Section 7 of the Act also provides for annual verification of the Register. 4. Gold and Silver deposits in Temples

Available gold and silver deposits As per information received from the Scheduled Temples, the gold and silver deposits available in Temples as on 15.7.2014 are as under:-

Gold Silver Qt Kg Grm Mg Qt Kg Grm Mg 4 58 363 525 158 80 454 388

Provisions of Section 12-A regarding gold/silver deposits Section 12-A has been inserted in the Act by amendments carried out in June 2010 and May 2011 concerning alienation of gold and silver of the Scheduled temples. The main provisions of 12-A are given as under:- A. Gold and silver offerings shall be caused to the purified, invested and disposed off after approval of the Committee constituted for this purpose. B. The said Committee is to be constituted by the Commissioner (Temple) and will consist of the following members: i. Concerned Commissioner (Temple): Chairman. ii. Official member of the Temple Trust: Member iii. Two non-official members to be nominated by the State Government: Member iv. Concerned District Language Officer: Member v. Temple Officer of the temple concerned: Member Secretary C. The gold and silver shall be caused to be purified from the Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation, (MMTC) Mumbai D. Gold and silver shall be invested and disposed off in the following manner:- Gold: i. 10 percent gold shall be used for the various activities related to temples; ii. 20 percent gold shall be invested in the “GOLD BOND SCHEME” of the State Bank of ; and iii. 20 percent gold shall be kept reserved in the temples. iv. 50% gold shall be converted into gold biscuits or coins and shall be sold to the devotees and pilgrims on the current prevailing market price. Silver: i. 20 percent silver shall be used for the various temple activities; ii. 20 percent silver shall be kept reserved in the temples; and iii. 60 percent silver shall be converted into silver coins and shall be sold to the devotees and pilgrims on the current market price prevailing at that time. E. A State Level Coordination Committee has been constituted under Chairpersonship of Pr. Secretary (LAC) to monitor and supervise the function of the above Committees Efforts of the State Government

The State Government has endeavored to coordinate efforts in this regard. Dialogue has been initiated with MMTC. A draft MOU to be executed between MMTC and respective Commissioners (i.e. Deputy Commissioners) of Temples has been received. The Law Department has been consulted. The MOU has been circulated to the Commissioners of the Temples whose comments are awaited. Thereafter action will be taken to finalize the MOU after following due process/procedure.

5. Income of Temples. The details of the income for Temples for 3 years i.e. 2011, 2012 and 2013 (both Temple-wise and total) are at Annexure “A’. The income of the Temples is calculated on basis of a calendar year. The details of income for all Temples emerge as under (information awaited for Laxmi Narayan and Shri Manimahesh Temples of Chamba district). In lakhs Year Income 2011 7875.14 (Seventy eight crore seventy five lakhs and fourteen thousand) 2012 10375.52 (One hundred three crore seventy five lakh and fifty two thousand) 2013 10067.28 (One hundred crore sixty seven lakh twenty eight thousand) G. Total: 28317.94 (Two hundred eighty three crore seventeen lakh and ninety four thousand)