SOME SHOCKING FACTS ABOUT MISUSE AND DIVERSION OF NATIONALIZED HINDU TEMPLE FUNDS BY THE GOVERNMENT

There are as many as 2,07,000 temples in Karnataka and the total
income of these temples amounts to 72 crores and only a sum of Rs. 6
crores is being spent by the Government for their upkeep. On the
other hand, the Government spent a phenomenal amount of Rs.50 crores
for the madrasas and Rs.10 crores for the churches, and for the Hindu
temples only a partly sum of Rs.6 crores is being spent.

Why the Church is the biggest landlord in the country-Church was the
biggest landlord in the country and all of them get protected because
of the Societies Registration Act of 1860, which was enacted by the
British only for the purpose of protecting the church. All of them
had taken the protection of this Act.

Legislation is made by the representatives elected by the people-
This legislation is made by the representatives elected by the
people. There are 550 Lok Sabha members in this country, 250 Rajya
Sabha members 300 MLSs, 700 MLCs, 500 Zilla Parishad members, 39,600
Panchayat Samiti members, 28,000 Corroborators, 3,700 Municipal
presidents, 11,200 Municipal members, 12,600 other Board members.

The draconian law of Karnataka affecting the Matadhipathis and
Acharyas - Many Acharyas have highlighted the problems faced by them
because of the clutches of the Endowment Act. In the year 1992-93,
the Government of Karnataka, in the process of bringing a common law
for all the five sub-regions in the State, as per the directions of
the Supreme Court, came out with a draconian law as per which a
Matadhipathi, an Acharya, who we treated as equal to God, had to take
permission for making any expenditure above Rs.100 and that
permission had to be got from Government official of the level of a
Tahsildar and not even at the level of an Assistant Commissioner.

It has, been claimed that, in 1997, the Karnataka Government
received a revenue of Rs 52.35 crore from 2,64,000 temples. Of this,
Rs 17.33 crore was returned to the temples for maintenace; Rs 9.25
crore allocated for Madrasa development and Rs 3 crore for church
development. The balance Rs 22.77 crore was diverted towards
Government programs. The situation was much the same in 1998.

However, in 1999, it is alleged, the State collected Rs 65.35 crore
in revenue; gave Rs 15 crore for temple maintenance, and diverted Rs
27 crore to Madrasa development and Haj subsidy and Rs 8 crore for
church development. No details were available about the use of the
balance Rs 17.35 crore.

In 2000, the temples generated a revenue of Rs 69.96 crore, but
received only Rs 13.75 crore for maintenance. The Madrasa-Haj subsidy
rose to Rs 35 crore. In 2001, temple revenue further rose to Rs 71.60
crore, while maintenance grants shrank to Rs 11.50 crore, and Madrasa
development funds rose to Rs 45 crore. Church development received Rs
10 crore.

In 2002, the State received Rs 72 crore as revenue, returned Rs 10
crore for temple maintenance, and granted Rs 50 crore for Madrasas
and Rs 10 crore for churches. Hindu friends protest that this studied
neglect of temples under the direct control of the State Government
could cause as many as 50,000 of the 2.6 lakh temples in Karnataka to
close down within five years. Many ancient temples are in extremely
poor condition, and their managements and priests carp about
inadequate funds. Even salaries are not disbursed regularly, and
priests are forced to survive on donations made by devotees in the
aarti plate.

There is a move to take away Tirumala temple lands and distribute
them among poorer sections in the name of social justice. Around
3,000 acres of temple lands have been identified for takeover.

70% (Rs. 50.00 Crores) of Hindu Temples money is diverted for Muslim
Madarasas and Haj by Indian Government.
5,000 Temples in Karnataka to be closed down due to lack of funding
and maintenance.

During Kumbh Mela in Nasik each Hindu was forced to pay Rs.25 to
Rs.50 for a dip in the holy water. Congress, BJP and Shiv Sena said
nothing about this (while giving money to Muslims and Christians).
Today, if a Hindu or Sikh wishes to visit holy places in Kailash
Mansarovar or Gurudwara in Pakistan, leave alone subsidiary, they are
forced to shell out large amount of money to visit their holy places
(while Islam enjoys massive 70% share of Hindus hard earned money to
visit Haj in Saudi Arabia)

The Congress Government of Karnataka has made another breakthrough
in appeasing the Minority Communities in Karnataka. The Government
passed a bill in the assembly that all private owned temples and the
temple comprising of trustees in Karnataka must pay minimum tax to
the Government every year. Failing to which, the authorized people of
the temple would be liable and or would be prosecuted. This law is
being passed in order to generate income for the development of
Madarasas and provide subsidies to Haj Pilgrims in Karnataka