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Telangana yet to answer priests prayers
It has been 15 months since the State government has promised payment of salaries to priests and employees through treasury (under 010 head), however, the issue continues to drag on for reasons unknown.
​Hyderabad: It has been 15 months since the State government has promised payment of salaries to priests and employees through treasury (under 010 head), however, the issue continues to drag on for reasons unknown.
It may be noted here that government, which agreed in principle to hike the honorarium of the Archakas under Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam (DDN) scheme from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000 a month, and salaries of temple priests and staff through treasury, has constituted a three-member committee headed by the Joint Secretary (Finance) Ch V Sai Prasad to study the modalities.
The committee was supposed to submit its report in a month, but it dillydallied over the issue on the pretext that the Endowment Department did not provide them with the details of the priests and employees.
Finally when the committee submitted its report, the government entrusted the issue to the Cabinet Sub-Committee headed by Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy with Ministers Tummala Nageshwara Rao, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Jupally Krishna Rao and Naini Narasimha Reddy. Subsequently, a Cabinet-Sub committee was formed to make recommendations on it.
While this was on, the government had released GOs 134 and 135 providing 43 per cent fitment (PRC-2015) to the priests and the employees, with a rider that salaries of priests and employees should not exceed 33 per cent of that temple’s income in which they are working. Yadadri, Bhadrachalam and Vemulawada temples were exempted from this condition.
“Owing to this rider, only a very few priests and employees have got benefited,” DVR Sharma, the chief priest of Palakurthi Somanatha Lakshmi Narsimha Swamy temple, told The Hans India, questioning the government’s decision.
Gangu Bhanu Murthy, Archaka Udyoga JAC State convener, said: “If the government fails to take a decision by January 1, 2017, we will sit on a hunger strike from January 2.”
It is learnt that Archaka Udyoga JAC has informed the Commissioner of Endowments Department N Siva Shankar about their protest.
It may be noted here that there are 5,827 priests and other staff working in 654 temples across the State.
