The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HRCE) department has been caught misusing temple funds again. Funds belonging an Amman temple in Thanjavur were used to buy and install toiletware in Thanjavur Joint Commissioner’s office.

Temple activist and the President of Temple Worshippers Society TR Ramesh often exposes the negligence and indifferent attitude of HRCE in maintaining temples. Oftentimes he had gone to court against the myriad ways in which HRCE misuses temple money. He recently tweeted that HRCE officials used temple money to buy and install a new toilet for themselves.

The bills shared by him show that the Nadiamman temple in Pattukottai, Thanjavur paid Rs 12,400 in 2017 to buy an “European Water Closet”. While the receipt from the temple says that the money was forwarded for some “repair work”, it can be seen from the bill submitted by HRCE that it was used to buy a western toilet. Such blatant misuse of temple money continues even as the government claims that they have the right to control temples as kings, the then ruling class built them.

HRCE History of Misusing Temple Money

In January 2022, HRCE approved a project to build a fish market on temple land using temple money even after the Madras High Court had stalled one such move earlier.

Funds of Mylapore Kapaleeswarar temple were used to buy cars for HRCE officials. First, they took Rs 16 lakh to buy an Innova car which was later given to the then HRCE minister Sevur Ramachandra. The temple’s Executive Officer proposed to buy another car, a Bolero, for Rs 9 lakhs as the Innova was used by the Additional Commissioner. Not only the cars but their service, repair, insurance and fuel costs were also paid by temples.

Thiruverkadu KaruMariamman temple also was made to pay Rs 16 lakhs for an Innova car to be used by the HRCE minister.

Sankara Narayana Swamy temple in Sankarankovil had to give Rs 78,750 to buy a xerox machine for the HRCE Commissioner’s office in 2016.

The Kapaleeswarar temple’s funds were misused to buy meals, snacks, etc for officials attending a review meeting in 2017.

HRCE misusing and misdirecting temple funds for non-Dharmik causes is so frequent that the court has repeatedly rapped the department for irresponsibility. When the DMK government proposed to build colleges using temple funds on temple lands, the court issued a restraint stating that temple funds and properties can be used only for religious purposes. Details of how temple gold was misappropriated and funds collected to cast murtis were siphoned off can be read here.