Chennai, Oct 12 – Tamil Nadu officials announced a fresh push for temple restoration, with the state allocating ₹425 crore to preserve more than a thousand‑year‑old shrines.
The announcement came from P.K. Sekar Babu, the minister who runs the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. “We are in a golden era for spiritual administration,” he said. Since the DMK government took office, 3,707 temples have already been reconsecrated following traditional Agama rituals.
Key renewal projects
Angus the department has finished upgrading 68 ancient temples using a mix of government money, temple contributions and private donations. The latest focus is on the historic Ekambaranathar Temple in Kanchipuram, where Sekar Babu and Handlooms Minister R. Gandhi inspected works worth ₹29 crore. The restoration is funded with ₹12.75 crore from the state, ₹8.99 crore from the Commissioner’s welfare fund, ₹6.84 crore from the temple itself, and ₹0.41 crore from donors. Workers are racing to finish the reconsecration ceremony scheduled for Dec 8.
Gold monetisation
In a ceremony attended by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Duraiswamy Raju, the ministers handed over 53.386 kg of unused temple gold from four Kanchipuram temples—Kanchi Kamakshi Amman, Kundrathur Subramania Swamy, Thiruvidanthai Nithya Kalyana Perumal and Thirumalai Vaiyavur Prasanna Venkatesa Perumal—to a State Bank of India (SBI) manager. The gold will be melted at the government plant in Mumbai and placed in the Gold Monetisation Scheme.
So far, 1,074 kg of purified gold from 21 temples has been deposited in SBI, generating ₹17.76 crore in interest each year. This money is being reinvested in temple development. Another 378 kg of unused gold from 13 temples is ready for melting.
Progress and future plans
The HR&CE department has issued 844 government orders since 2021, having implemented 65 % of them. Public contributions have reached a record ₹1,528 crore across 11,845 projects. The department has also recovered about ₹650 crore in arrears.
Looking ahead, the government plans to build organised parking near temples in Kanchipuram and finish a ₹9 crore golden chariot for the Nanganallur Anjaneyar Temple by January 2026. A golden chariot for the Kanchi Ekambaranathar Temple is also in the works. Joint Commissioner Vanmathi will be appointed as a special officer to oversee all restoration works.
These moves underscore Tamil Nadu’s commitment to preserving its rich spiritual heritage while using modern financial tools like gold monetisation to fund ongoing temple care.
Source: ianslive
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