CHAPTER II

PROFILE OF TAMIL NADU HINDU RELIGIOUS & CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS

Temple administration is complex and problem ridden.
It naturally behoves on the highest administrative authority
of the land to superintend the religious and non-religious
activities of the Temple. In the past, the Rulers proved
themselves to be able administrators. With the
decentralisation, and democratisation of administration,
recruitment and office management have passed into the hands
of Government. In Tamil Nadu, a Department of Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments was created and
entrusted the work of supervising the functions and ensuring
efficiency in the conduct of the affairs of temples. The
following pages present this set-up in detail.
The flux of time has brought about changes in the
concept of and attitude? to the temple. The holy place had
far outstripped the basic premise of its existence, that is
to preserve religion as a unifying factor. Growing wealth
in the form of donations of land, money, jewellery and other
utilitarian items, and increasing responsibilities in
managing dharmasalas, schools, hospitals and even townships
demand the creation of an administrative set-up. At first,
well known religious-minded, selfless individuals were
entrusted with the job of overseeing the functioning of the

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 37

temple. Slowly, this power passed into the hands of a group

of trustees. As the handling of temple affairs left much to

be desired, the government started exercising control over

them.

The British Government, in 1817, received several

complaints about the irregularities in the administration of
temple properties. Therefore, a governmental regulation was
brought and the temple administration came under the
supervision of the Government until 1829. The British,
however, had a flip-flop attitude towards governmental
interference in temple affairs, and reimposed and withdrew
their supervision several times.

In 1867 the British Government created an inam

register by which temple properties were identified and made
over to the hereditary trusteed, for administration by title
deeds. After Independence, however, a series of
legislations under the Land Reforms Act reduced the extent
of agricultural land belonging to the temple in the States,
where whole village belonged to the temple. The Government
took over the village and paid compensation to the temples.

Land in the name of individual trustees or temple

employees was handled in three different ways:
 38

large tracts of land were taken over by the Government

and compensation paid to the patta holders,

smaller areas of land W^K© given to the hereditary

patta holders if they were able to pay twenty times the

fixed lease amount for the land, and

other land was made over to the temples themselves by

ryot pattas.

lands, if it was agricultural, was usually leased out by

the temple to smaller landlords for a fixed amount. A.s
successive State Governments, with an eye on the valuable
rural vote banks, legislated increasingly for socialist and
populist agrarian measures, the lease amounts owing to the
temple began to be waived frequently. Lease holders found
that, if they did not pay the lease on temple lands for
several years, the total amount was usually waived by the
government before the next election. This naturally
encouraged them to refrain from paying any lease whatever.

In 1927, the Madras Act I of Religious and

Charitable Endowment was enacted, the first such Act to

Pin ^mini-SbaJnort.
govern temples. . ^Board was constituted with a Chairman and
four Commissioners to hold office for a term of five years.

While the Board functioned in Madras there were committees

heoAod by Deputy 0>mrn]^\omY:&
in District headquarters^ to supervise the working of temple
 39

administration there. The expenses of the Board and Commit

tees were met by the annual contributions to the Board from
various temples. In essence, the Act and the Board were
prototypes of those in operation in Tamil Nadu now.

In 1940, R.V. Krishna Iyer was appointed to

suggest measures for the efficient and smooth running of the
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Boards. His
suggestion that Government itself should take over the
administration of temple under a separate Department, was a
true reflection of growing public opinion.

In 1942, a non-official committee was appointed to

go into various details of Temple Administration. The
Committee's recommendations were embodied in the Bills of
1944 and 1946.

"The Bill of 1946 brought an important reform. It

provided for audit of accounts of Religious and Charitable
Endowments and also provided for recovery from trustees, who
by their negligence caused financial loss. It also
contemplated consolidation of Trust Properties. The Act of
1951 gave the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Board
definite powers to check malpractices."

The Indian Express, April 23, 1978.

 40

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act

XIX is a land mark in the history of the administration of
the Hindu Religious and Charitable Institutions and
Endowments in the State as it preserved, in an effective
manner, the corpus of the 'Mutts', 'temples', 'Charitable
Institutions' and 'Endowments'. Decentralisation,
appointment of Deputy Commissioners and the constitution of
Area Committees are the salient features of the Act which
provides for a non-official machinery, entrusted with the
working of the Act.

More araendements followed until a new shape was

given to the Act in 1951. The old Act was scrapped and the
new one came into force to enable the temple administration
function efficiently and to make sure that the properties of
temples and the income from them were spent only on the
religious purposes for which they were meant.

The Act XIX of 1951 was important in the history

of the Administration of Hindu Religious and Charitable
Endowments because it substituted a department for the board
type of management.

Administration Report of the Hindu Religious and

Charitable Endowment (Administration) Department for the
years from 1 April 1949 to 31st March 1952, pp.93-94.
 41

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Act

XIX of 1951 provincialised the administration of religious
institutions by which the State Government shall have the
general powers of superintendence of all religious
institutions and exercise such powers through a Department.
Under Sec. 7 of this Act, the Commissioner,
Deputy- Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners
constitute the authorities to carry out the
purposes of the Act viz., the administration, control
and supervision of the religious
endowments.

The Act of 1951 was further amended in 1959, this

amendment providing for an executive officer to be
appointed in all temples except those governed by mutts.
The Department was provided with powers to remove
encroachments on temple land, the commissioners were
empowered to create a fund to which temples would
contribute from excess funds, in order to help less wealthy
temples: and, the officers of the Department were empowered
to take action against the trustees or the Executive
Officer found to be misappropriating or wasting temple
funds.
There was a further Amendment to the Act to
enable the division of temples in the State into three
categories, according to their income:
 42

those temples which earn less than Rs.10,000 per year

those that earn more than Rs.50,000 upto Ks.l lakhs a

year o

those which earn more than Rs.l lakhs annually.

Of the 40,000 or so temples in the State, except 7000, those

which were founded and run by a specific community came

under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment

Department. The department was evolved over close to a

century in order to bring better administration of temples

and better management of their properties.

The State Governmen" ;t, has, in an order

(Ms.No.966 R.W.Department) in pursuance of the provision of
the Hindu Religious and Charitable Ednowment Act,
constituted a separate Department called the Hindu Religious
and Charitable Endowment (administration) Department with a
Commissioner as its head with headquarters at Madras to deal
with the administration of all religious endowments in
accordance with the administration of religious endowments
in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Besides the
Commissioner, there are three Deputy Commissioners, a
Personnel Assistant to assist the Commissioner in running
the office, eleven Assistant Commissioners and a
 43

Verification Officer to verify and appraise the jewels and

valuables of the religious institutions. Some of the
features of the Act of 22 of 1959 are:

Provision for the appointment of one member atleast of

the Judicial Service either as Commissioner or as Deputy-

Commissioner has been made compulsory under Sec.(2) of
the Act.

Appointment of Executive Officer by the Commissioner for

religious institution other than Mutts or specific

endowments attached to Mutts.

Constitution of Area Committees of Government with a

Chairman and two to four members for each and ex-officio
appointment of the Assistant Commissioner concerned as
the Secretary of each such committee but with no right to
vote.

Constitution of an Advisory Committee consisting of 12

non-official members besides the Minister in charge of
the portfolio, the Secretary to the administrative
Department of Government and the Commissioner to advise
the Government in respect of the, administration of
religious institutions and matters refered to it.
 44

Provisions for the removal of encroachment from lands

belonging to religious institutions and the constitution
of special tribunals for dealing with claims for compen•
sation from persons dispossessed of such lands.

The creation of a fund called the 'Madras Hindu Religious

and Charitable Endowments Common Good Fund' out of
contributions voluntarily made by the religious
institutions from their surplus funds or by any person
for the renovation of needy temples and their buildings
and paintings and the promotion or propagation of tenets
common to say class of such institutions.

With reference to the provisions of the Indian Constitu•

tion and the trend of decisions of the High Court and the
Supreme Court, conferment of greater right on
Madadhipathis, hereditary trustees.

Provision for safeguarding the interests of religious

institutions by way of surcharging trustees found to have
misappropriated institution funds or expended them
improperly or illegally even during the inspection of the
institutions without waiting for completion of audit.

Special provision for the settlement of schemes for Mutts

by the Commissioner.

Rajasikamani, V.,The Madras Hindu Religious and

Charitable Endowments Act, 1959, Ayya Murugappa Brothers,
Madras, 1965, pp.615-619.
 45

Provision was made for enabling the Deputy

Commissioner, on being satisfied that the purpose of a
religious institutions has, from the beginning, been or has
subsequently become impossible of realisation to directly
order that the endowments of the institution be appropriated
to all or any of the purposes enumerated in section 66.

The Act was replaced by the Madras Hindu Religious

and Charitable Endowments Act XXII of 1959, which
consolidated the law on the subject and made applicable to
all Hindu Public Institutions and Endowments except the
incorporated and unincorporated Devasthanams in Kanyakumari
District and Shenkotah Taluk,

As per the Act of 1959, an Executive Officer was

appointed as the Chief Administrator in the temple, by the
Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable
Endowment Department. Four members from the public were also
nominated by the Government as the Board of trustees to
assist and advise the Executive Officer in the
administration of the temple.

As a result of these and other reforms, income

from temple properties has increased substantially over the
years. The Department also attempts to reduce expenditure
wherever possible. Audit is made not only of accounts, but
also of various priceless jewels and valuables in the
custody of temples.
 46

Broadly speaking, the Hindu Religious and

Charitable Endowment Bill and varius acts have brought
three-fold benefits: corruption and malpractices have been
rooted out; temples are being constantly improved and
renovated; and temple funds have been diverted to deserving
cases. The atmosphere has thus, been created for the growth
of religious faith.

HINDU RELIGIOUS AND CHARITABLE ENDOWMENT ACT OF 1959

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act

aims to achieve the following objectives:

To provide for better management and administration of

Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment.

To secure efficiency and speedy execution of the work in

the matter of administration and management of the Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments.

To preserve the properties and the income of the

institutions and endowment s .

To ensure that the income is utilised for the purpose for

which they are intended.

The Act of 1959 provided for the following

officials.
 47

The Commissioner
The Deputy Commissioner
The Assistant Commissioner
Area Committees.
The Act 1959 "decentralised the administrative
machinery ir». the Hindu Eeligious and Charitable Endowment
Department by creating different levels of management and
empowering the Commissioner to delegate his powers to the
Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Commissioner and the Area
Committees."
The State Government plays an important role in
•J

the scheme of management. A Cabinet Minister is in-charge of

the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department. He
is not a mere lia'sion officer, because the Government,
through him, exercises certain powers of control by the Act
of 1959. The powers vested in him are:

to appoint the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioners,

Assistant Commissioners and to nominate members to the
Area Committees, Trust Board, etc.

to call for an examine the records of the Commissioner,

Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and the

Area Committees or Trustees in respect of any proceedings

Rajesikamani, V.,Op.Cit., 1982, pp.215-216.

 48

apart from those in respect of which an appeal to court

is provided by the Act, to satisfy himself as to the
regularity of such proceedings or the legality of any
decision or order passed therein and if necessary even to
modify, annul,, reserve or remit for reconsideration
such orders,

to make, rules for carrying out any of the purposes of the

Act.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE
In the administration of the religious endowments

in the State of Tamil Nadu, the State Government is aided by

an Advisory Committee. The Committee consits of

The Minister in-charge of the administration of the Act

who is the ex-officio Chairman of the Committee.

The Secretary to the Government in the Department in-

charge of the Hindu Religious Institutions.

The Commissioner - ex-officio.

Twelve non-officials professing the Hindu Religion,

appointed by the Government. The secretary to the
Government, referred to above or any officer as the

Maharajan,N.,The Hindu Religious and Charitable

Endowments Act, Royal Publications, Madras, 1981, p.325.
 49

Government nominates, acts as the Secretary to the

Committee. The term of office of the members of the

Committee is three years. The functions of the Committee

are :
to make recommendations to the Government in
respect of such matters as may be prescribed.

to advise the Government in respect of such

matters as may be referred by the Government to
the Committee. If there is any difference of
opinion among the members, it is decided by the
majority of those present and voting, and in case
of a tie, the chairman has a casting vote."

COMMISSIONER
At the apex of the departmental machinery is the
Commissioner who is appointed by the State Government.
Appointment to the post of the Commissioner is from the
members of the Tamil Nadu State Judicial service or any
other service or by direct recruitment. The Commissioner
must be a Hindu. He is a Government servant. He has
perpetual succession, a common seal and can be used in his
corporate name.

Rajasikamani, V., Op.Cit., p.310.

 50

The salaries, allowances and pensions of the

Commissioner and all other members of the Department are
paid, in the first instance, out of the Consolidated Fund of
the State. It is recovered from the Tamil Nadu Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowments Fund and repaid to the
Government.

Vast powers of administrative and judicial nature

are vested with the Commissioner. The commissioner is vested
with the general power of superintendence and control over
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments and Institutions
situated in the State of Tamil Nadu and administration of
religious endowments. The specific powers of administrative
and supervisory nature are the following:

To pass orders to ensure the proper administration of the

endowments and see that the income is appropriated to the
purpose for which the endowments were founded.
0

To enter the religious institutions.

To call for and examine the records of Deputy-

Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners, Area Committee
Trustees other than the trustees of a mutt or specific
endowments attached to a mutt and pass orders thereon.
 51

To modify, annul,, reserve or recommend the orders passed

by the Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner,

Trustees - other than the trustees of a mutt or a

specific endowment attached to a mut..

To appropriate the powers of a Deputy Commissioner or

Assistant Commissioner, if he is satisfied that either of

"tftd
r powers.
these authorities failed to exercise

With the previous approval of the Government, to specify

the jurisdiction of the Deputy Commissioner, andtKotof

Assistant Commissioner.

To transfer the proceedings pending before the Deputy

Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, to his own file

and dispose it of himself or transfer it to another

Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner.

If the Commissioner is satisfied that an Area Committee

has failed to exercise its power in any respect, the

can.
Commissioner ^ himself ^ exercise such powers o<'

authorise the Assistant Commissioner to do so. However,

the Commissioner has to fix the period during which he

wishes to exercise such powers and give the Area

Committee enough time to show why the above action should

not be taken.
 52

To sanction a compromise of legal proceedings.

To appoint Executive Officers for religious institutions

other than mutt or specific endowments attached to mutt.

To publish a list of certain institutions whose annual

income as calculated for the purpose of levy or
contribution by Hindu Religions and Charitable Endowment
Department under Section 92 is not less than Rs.20,000.

To institute proceeding in the court of law for the

removal of the trustee of a mutt or specific endowments
attached to a mutt.

To notify religious institutions other than a mutt or any

other religious institutions having a hereditary trustee
who has a beneficial interest in the income of the
institution.

To delegate powers and duties imposed on himself to the

Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner according
to the provisions of the Act.
To constitute a Board of Trustees for institutions with
an income of Rs.20,000 and also for institutions over
which the Area Committee has no jurisdiction.

1
Subramanian, B., "Administration of Temples",
Thirukkoil, Government of Tamil Nadu Publications. Februarv
1981, pp.64-67, ^
 53

Though the powers of the administration of the

Temple are centralised with the Commissioner, the
Commissioner has the right to decentralise the
administration through the delegation of powers to the
Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.
It is impossible for the Commissioner of the Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowment to execute all the tasks
for the accomplishment of a group of activities. It may be
found necessary in the interests of the administration of
religious institutions to authorise a Deputy Commissioner
and an Assistant Commissioner to deal with certain matters
allotted to the Commissioner:
Delegation is the dynamics of management, it is
the process, a manager follows in dividing the work assigned
to him so that he performs that part which only he, because
of his unique organisational placement, can perform
effectively, and so that he can get others to help him with
what remains.
The Commissioner shall, with the previous approval
of the Government, specify the'area within which each Deputy
Commissioner, and Assistant Commissioner, if there is more

than one, shall exercise the power confered and discharge

A-

1
Louis A. Allen, Fundamentals of Organisation,
EEC Publications, London, 1981, p.301.
 54

the duties imposed by the rules made thereunder on a

Deputy- Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner as such.

Two experts have detailed "departmentation":

Departmentation is a part of the organisation
process. In the context of management, depart•
mentation means dividing and grouping the
activities of employees of an enterprise into
various departments. Departmentation implies the
division of the total work of an enterprise into
individual functions and sub-functions.

Departraentation may be on the basis of (l)Depart-

mentation by Function (2) Departmentation by

Territory (3) Departmentation by product

9

(4) Departmentation by Customers.

In the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment

Administrative Department, the activities are grouped on the
basis of the functions intended to be performed by them. The
office of the Commissioner is organised into 5 departments.
The Commissioner, who is the Head, is aided by a Personal
Assistant. There are five departments to share the work of
the office. They are:

Paul Hensay,Management of Organisation Behaviour

Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd., New Delhi, 1982, p.429.
2
Megrath, E.H, Basic Managerial Skills'
 55

Legal and General

Revenue

A.ssessment
Establishment and Judicial Enquiry
Accounts and Administration of Endowments.

The work done in the Legal Section relates to the

suits, appeals and all other legal proeedings filed by or
against the deparment in the High Court or City Civil Court
and Small Causes Court, Madras, and in the mofussil Courts
from the date of receipt of summons till the case is
disposed of and the file is sent to the Record Room.
Besides, the general matters of the office are also looked
after by this section.

The nature of the work done in the Revenue Section

is to assess the income of the institution and fix the
demands for contribution and audit fees on the demand
register, verify them, and balance statements, receive the
collection made by the Assistant Commissioner, Tahsildars,
fix fees to private auditors, to prepare contingent bills
for audit fees, reply to audit objections, etc.

The work done in the Accounts Section consists of

preparation of annual budgets, preparation of contingent
bills or law charges. Head Office charges, maintenance of
registers of fixed deposits, etc.
 56

The Judicial Enquiries Section deals with the

application for revision of the orders or proceedings of the
trustees, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and
proceedings for revision, application for transfer of
proceedings from one Deputy Commissioner to another.

Each Section is headed by a Superintendent, and

under him are Upper Division Clerks and Lower Division
Clerks.
For administrative purposes, the State is divided
into divisions and each division is placed under
the charge of a Deputy Commissioner. At present,
the State has been divided into 7 divisions. Apart

from this, the temples which are getting an yearly

0

income of more than Rs.20 lakhs have been given

'A' grade and- a separate Deputy Commissioner is
appointed to look after their administration.
Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarer Temple, Madurai,
Dhandayuthapani Temple, Palani and Subramaniya
Swamy Temple, Tiruchendur are grouped as 'A' Grade
temples and separate Deputy Commissioners are
appointed.'

1
I^alaivanna, ,Aj Temple Income, T&milarasu, Monthly Journal,
Government of Tamil Nadu Publications, Madras, April 1982
p . 32 . '
 57

The powers of the Deputy Commissioners and

Assistant Commissioners are not specifically mentioned in
the Act. The Commissioner may delegate any of the powers
conferred or duties imposed on him to a Deputy Commissioner
and an Assistant Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioners,
who are looking after the temples in their divisions are
given certain powers, delegated by the Commissioner.

All the temples submit their accounis and statements

only to the Deputy Commissioner of the particular division.
After scrutiny, the Deputy Commissioner forwards the
statements and accounts with his comments, to the
Commissioner. The Executive Officer of the temple has the
power on sanctioning an amount not exceeding Rs.500 towards
expenses of the temple. If the expenses of the temple are

more than Rs.500 and less than Rs.10,000, the Deputy

0

Commissioner's sanction is essential. If the expenses are

more than Rs.10,000, the Commissioner has the power to
sanction.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
In the .interest of efficiency of the administra•
tion of religious institutions, whole-time paid responsible
officers are necessary. Their duties lie in due collection
of income, maintenance of accounts and other matters
 58

relating to day-to-day administration, since it will not be

possible for honorary trustees to attend to .'-' details.
This devolution of work is necessary for. ensuring proper
management and adequate control.

Executive Officers are the direct and immediate

administrative officers of each temple. Previously there
were servants to look after the administration of religious
institutions. By the Act of 1959, they have been made
Government servants and are appointed by the Commissioner.
Their salaries are paid out the Consolidated Fund in the
first instance and later recovered from the religious
institutions. There are over 300 Executive Officers for the
temples in Tamil Nadu. Not all the religious institutions
could meet the salaries of Executive officers and it is not
uncommon for one Executive Officer to represent two or three
religious institutions. The Executive Officer is expected
to carry out the orders of the trustees.

The Commissioner may appoint, subject to such

conditions as may be prescribed, an Executive Officer for
any religious institution other than a mutt or a specific
endowment attached to mutt.

Information was collected through the personal

Interview with the Executive Officer of the Temple, Tiruchy.
 59

The following are the powers and duties of an

Executive Officer of Sriranganathaswamy Temple, Srirangam.
The Executive Officer shall look after the day-to•
day affairs of the Temple including proper performance of
daily services and periodical festivals.
The Executive Officer maintains records of all the
movable and immovable properties of the Temple. The jewels
and valuables shall be in the joint custody of the Executive
Officer and the "Peshkar". The Executive Officer shall be
responsible for the safe custody of jewels and valuables
which are in daily use as well as those which are not so.
The Executive Officer shall be entitled to receive
all the incomes (cash and kind) and all offerings and to
make all expenditures to be incurred on behalf of the
Temple. All the payments, he can make only as per
'Dittam'(Budget) after getting the consent of the trustees.

'Dittam' which represents the scale of expenditure

to be incurred for poojas, festivals and 'Ubhyams' (grants)
for services rendered to the deity shall be prepared and got
approved by the trustees.

The Executive Officer shall maintain regular

accounts of all receipts and disbursements supported by
proper vouchers and may retain with him the Temple funds to
the extent of Rs.250, and money in excess of Rs.250 shall be
 60

deposited in the name of the Temple in the Post-Office Savings

account or any other co-operative bank approved by the

Commissioner.
"Control implies authority - authority to detect
deviations and authority to take necessary
corrective action. It would be impossible for a
manager to exercise control in the absence of
proper authority.

All the Temple officials and servants shall work

under the immediate control and supervision of the Executive
Officer. The Executive Officer may fine, demote, suspend,
remove or dismiss a servant or official of the Temple.

In the beginning of every year, the Executive

0

officer assigns the tasks to all the officials and servants

of the Temple with the consultation of the Superintendents.
At the end of the year, the Executive Officer gets the feed
back about the tasks entrusted with the workers through the
Superintendent. When there is any deviation from the work
entrusted in the beginning, the Executive Officer takes
proper action.
An Effective feed-back enables the Manager to know
where and when deviation from any plan has taken place. He

George Strause and Leonard R. Sayles,"Personnel

the Human Problems of Management" Prentice Hall of India
Private Limited, New Delhi, 1982, p.547.
 61

can then order prompt remedial action. He shall be

responsible for the proper maintenance of all records,
accounts and registers of the temple. The Executive Officer
shall be the person entitled to sue or to be sued on behalf
of the Temple.
The goal setter are the Commissioner, Hindu
Religious and Charitable Endowment Board and the Board of
the Trustees of the Temple. The Executive Officer is the
Controller of Administration of the Temple. The Executive
Officer with the help of the Superintendents of the
temples, identifies the problem and the same has beenP
rectified and solved through the feed-back channel. Thus,
the management of the Temple is systematically organised.
Budgetary control is the , establishment of
departmental budgets relating to the responsibilities of
the executives to the requirements of a policy, and the
continuous comparison of actuals with budgeted results,
either to secure by individual action or- the objectives of
that policy or to provide a firm basis for its revision.
The Budgetary Control is one of the techniques of
control followed by the temple administration to regulate
the financial transactions. The Executive Officer shall

Frontier Cork, Cost Behaviour, Lodi Publications

London, 1979, p.314.

2-
^
 62

prepare the budget and the supplementary budget in time and

obtain the approval of the Trustees.

The Executive Officer has power to sell all

perishables in such a manner as he deems fit. Sale of
livestock, grains or any other property not required for the
use of the institution shall be decided upon only by the
Trustees and the Executive Officer shall -follow rules in
a manner decided by the Trustees.

ITie Executive Officer shall be responsible for the

performance of the duties assigned by Trustees under

32,33 and 35Ca-)
sections^of the Act
The Executive Officer may exercise all powers and
may perform all duties assigned to him under the rules
framed under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment
Act, 1959, perform such functions as are allotted to him by
the Trustees.

Chandramoorthy, C,Hindu Religious and Charitable

Endowment, Mannual, Government of Tamil Nadu Publications,
Madras 1980, pp.54-55.
 63

Though the Executive Officer has enormous powers,

he cannot act independently, and he has to exercise his
functions only after getting the approval either from the
Trustees or from the Commissioner. It is because of this
procedure that, more often than not, there is delay in the
execution of the works of the Temple even in trivial
matters.

TRUSTEES

The Commissioner nominates members of the Public,

considered suitable by him, as Trustees to give them a say
in the administration of the Temple. Only Hindus are
permitted to become the Trustees. "In the nearby State,
Kerala, an attempt was made to exclude non-believers from
the Board of Trustees. But the Ernakulam High Court struck
down this provision."
The Trustee shall hold office for five years from
the date of his taking over charge, unless, in the
meanwhile, he is removed or dismissed, or he resigns, or
till his resignation is accepted by the Government. The
Trustees are not paid any salary or honorarium for their
job. The trustees may be hereditary or non-hereditary.
But, after promulgation of the Act of 1959, the hereditary
trusteeship has been abolished.

The Hindu, February 4, 1985, p.7.

 64

A person shall be disqualified for being appointed

as, and for being, a trustee of any religious instituions,

if he does not profess the Hindu religion;

except in the case of a hereditary trustee, if he

is less than twenty-five and more than seventy

years of age;

if he is an undischarged insolvent;
0
if he is of unsound mind or is suffering from

mental defect;
if he is employed as a paid legal practitioner on
behalf of or against the religious institution;

if he has been sentenced by a criminal court for

an offence involving moral deliquency, such
sentence not having been reversed or the offence
pardoned;
if he has acted adverse to the interests of the
institution.

Though, there are certain qualifications

mentioned in the Act for nominating the trustees, the
Government does not actually follow the provisions of the
Act for the purpose. The political party, which is in power
and running the Government,. nominates its own party-men,
irrespective of their qualification and experience. This
leads to undesirable consequences. Sometimes, the persons
 65

who do not have faith in God and Hinduism, are nominated as

Trustees of the Board. Such Trustees pay scant respect to

the religious sentiments of the public.

As per section 53 of the Hindu Religious and

Charitable Endowment Act of 1959, the Commissioner is
empowered to exercise disciplinary control over trustees of
religious institutions. "The Commissioner may suspend,
remove or dismia| any trustee of a religious Institutions,
if he

ceases to profess the Hindu Religion (or)

fails to discharge the duties- and perform the

functions of a trustee in accordance with the Act.
disobeys the lawful orders issued under the
provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder
by the Government, the Commissioner or Deputy
Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner.

-Continuously neglects his duty or commits any

malpractice or mismanages funds or for any breach
of trust, in respect of the trust" or

misappropriates or deals, improperly the

properties of the instituion

Information was Collected through the personal

interview with the Thakkar of the Sri Ranganatha Swaray
Temple, Srirangam.
 66

acts adversely to the interest of the institution.

absents himself from three consecutive meetings of

the trustees.

Of the entire administrative structure, the Board

of Trustees is the one that plays a vital role in the policy-
making and decision-making levels of the administration of
the temple. Though, the Executive Officer has power to
control, supervise and regulate the functions of the
administration of the temple, he is not permitted to act and
take decisions without the consent of the trustees.

Since the Board of Trustees will have at least

three members, the need arises for the post of the Chairman
to lead the proceedings. It is his duty to convene and
preside over trustees' meetings and he co-ordinates the
administrative structure. As per the provisions of the Act,
the Board of Trustees, thus constituted, has to elect one of
its members to be its Chairman, and if no chairman is
elected within the prescribed period, the Commissioner is
empowered to nominate the Chairman.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees has the

power to appoint all other servants of that temple along
with powers to fine, suspend, remove or dismiss any such
servant of the temple for a sufficient cause. An appeal
 67

against the order of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees

shall lie in the office of the Deputy Commissioner.

Neither the Chairman of the Board of Trustees nor

the Executive Officers shall lend or borrow money on behalf
of the temple either on pronotes or on securities of the
temple properties or pledge or lend any movable of the
temple or negotiate or part with the valuable properties of
the temple witliout the consent of the Trustees and the
Deputy Commissioner.

The trustees shall meet in the premises of the

temple ordinarily once in a month and more often if need be
for the passing of the accounts of the previous month and
for transacting temple business, such as the settlement of
the leases, the endowments and the annual statements of
additions and alterations, the conduct of festivals, the
regulation of expenses, the consideration of repairs to
buildings, cases related to lands; and disputes with regard
to jewellery and other paraphernalia of the temple. The
Executive Officer shall always be present at the meetings,
produce the accounts for being checked and being passed,
make available whatever records are required by the trustees
and furnish such information as may be decided by them.
The Trustee shall be responsible for the timely
submission of budgets, returns and reports etc.
 68

The Commissioner may appoint a 'fit person' to

perform the function of the Board of Trustees when the
Commissioner feels that the Board of Trustees is not
necessary. Taking advantage of the emergency provision on
most occasions, the administration of the temple is
entrusted with the 'fit persons' on political
considerations. The one-man administration in the temple is
not satisfactorily functioning in most of the temples. The
Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple is one among them.

The immovable property of the temple shall

ordinarily be leased out and the lease deeds and renewal
shall be executed by all the trustees in the name of and on
behalf of the temple.
If the Government has reason to believe that the
affairs of the temple are not properly managed by the Board
of Trustees, the Government can dissolve the Board of
Trustees. But, the Government is unable to dissolve these
erring Board of Trustees due to political reasons. This
makes it easy for the trustees to mismanage the institutions
with impunity.

There were some conflicts between the Executive

Officer of the Temple and the Board of Trustees in sharing
the powers and exercising their duties. A. Judgement on
 69

this affairs was promulgated in the Madras High Court in

October, 1975. The Judgement was fully incorporated in the
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment ^ct of 1959.

In case of difference of opinion between the

Executive Officer and the Trustees on any matter relating to

the administration of the temple, the Executive Officer may

refer the matter to the Commissioner who shall pass such

orders as he may deem fit in the matter.

The trustees 'shall bring to the notice of the

Commissioner any om:.jission or commission of the Executive
Officer which is, in the opinion of the trustees, improper
or against the interest of the institutions.

Though the Executive Officer of the temple is the

Chief Executive in the administration, he is not able to
exercise power over his subordinates and temple servants,
for all these appointments are made by the trustees on
political grounds. The position of the Executive Officer of
the temple is only a liason officer between the trustees and
the servants of the temple.

Thus there is need for the superintendence of the

religious endowments in Tamil Nadu because the State has a
large number of temples, mutts and specific endowments
owning large quantity of movable and fixed properties. In
the words of Dr. Varadarajan, there are 34,230 religious
 70

institutions under the control of the Hindu Religious and

Charitable Department, of which 196 institutions are getting
an income of Ss.l lakh and more, 1375 institutions are
getting on income between Rs.10,000 and Rs.1,00,000 and the

remaining institutions numbering 32,659 are getting less

1
than Rs.10,000 per annum.

According to the Administration Report of Hindu

Religious and Charitable Endowment, Department for the
year 1981-82, the Hindu Religious Institutions possessed
property in the shape of jewels, gems, vahanams, etc., to
the extent of Rs.5,98,70,827.

Thiru R.Viswanathan observes that the temples in

Tamil Nadu own over five lakh acres of land and the income
expected therefrom is of the order of Rs.7 crores per annum.
In view of the various land legislations and
raoratorira declared from time to time, the temples are
not able to collect most of their dues and as on date
the lease arrears amount to Fs.31.5 crores. Besides,
the annual income due from sites and building owned by the
religious institutions is about Rs.1.75 crores and in
this category also the unrealised rental arrears
amount to Rs.3.25 crores.

Varadharajan, N. Dr., Temples in Tamil Nadu,

Tamilarasu, March 83, Tamil Nadu Government Publications.
Madras, 1983, p.12.
2
Viswanathan, R., "Temple Funds", Thirukkoil,
Tamil Nadu Government Publications, Madras, May 1983, p.41.
 TEMPLE LANDS IN
TAMILNADU (100 TO 200
ACRES)

Tirunelveli
Tiruchirapalli 7.7% 6.1% Maditrai
amanathapuram
North arcot

0ft/) South Arcot

5 .,% Chengalput

Thanjavur
 71

Therefore, these institutions have to be preserved and

protected not only because of their antiquity but also
because they care for the spiritual well-being of the vast
number of Hindus.
A statement showing the number of religious
institutions owning lands exceeding 100 standard acres but
not exceeding 200 standard acres as mentioned in the
Madras
0

Agricultural Income Tax Act 1955 and the total number of

land owned by such institutions is presented below:
TABLE 1
TEMPLE LANDS IN TAMIL NADU
Total areas of lands
Number of owned by Institutions
District Institutions
(Temples) in standard
acres (100 to
200)

Thanjavur 44 6516.17
Tiruchirapalli 5 587.14
Tirunelveli- 4 605.75
Madurai 1 187.50
Ramanathapuram 2 238.04
North Arcot 1 123.53
South Arcot 5 629.00
Chingleput 4 505.64
Total
66 9392.79
Source: Information given by the Secretary to
Government,
Revenue Department, on 1981.
 TEMPLE LANDS IN TAMILNADU
(MORE THAN 200 ACRES)

South Arcot ''•^"^

13% T i r u n e l v e l i

.% Chengalput
2% Madras
45 % Ramanathapuram

2.3%Madural
2.3%Tiruchlra-
pall i

74.1%
Thanjavur
 72

Below is the statement showing the number of

religious institutions owning more than 200 standard acres
of land and the extent of land owned by them in standard
acres as defined in the Madras Agricultural Income Tax Act
1955.

TABLE 2
TEMPLE LANDS IN TAMIL NADU (MORE THAN 200 STANDARD ACRES)

Total area of Land

Number of owned by religious
District Institutions
(Temples) institution in
standard acres

Thanjavur 64 52,080.25
Tiruchirapalli 2 723.92
Madurai 2 1,055.68
Ramanathapuram 4 3,044.14
Madras 1 1,179.61
Chingleput 1 398.00
Tirunelveli 11 8,758.31
South Arcot 1 370.90
Total 86 67,610.82
Source: Information given by the Secretary to Government,
Revenue department, 1981.
 73

Today the religious endowments and the

institutions are supervised and controlled py the Hindu

Religious and Charitable Endowment Act of 1959, and its
subsequent amending Acts.

It was in 1964 that the returns from temple lands

began to dwindle. The Government under the Chief
Ministership Thiru M. Bhaktavatsalam, ordered a massive
concession to the tenents of temple lands that if they paid
a year's lease, the last three year's accumulated lease
would be waived. This set the pattern for temple tenents
thereafter until, in 1971, the DMK Government surpassed the
1964 slide, when Act 24 decreed that payment of all
accumulated lease amounts was suspended. This moratorim
applied specifically to Thanjavur and Tiruchirapalli
districts where temples had the maximum amount of
agricultural land. The moratorium has been revived every
year and is the single largest factor in the impoverishment
of temples in the State.

In 1983 the late Chief Minister MGR did consider

lifting the moratorium but was dissuaded from doing so by
his own Ministers. It is important to note here that the
advantage of the moratorim given to the tenants cultivating
temple lands does not, most often go to the poor or landless
farmer. It has been found, time again, that the poorer
 ORGANISATION CHAR'ILJ)J_jriIE_iUJL-_J^iL-J_-_Ji^MILJJi^JJJ.

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 74

farmers are benamis for locally powerful landlords or

politi• cally influential people who collect the lease
amounts from their own subleases, the landless farmers but
do not pay any lease money to the temple
themselves. In effect the moratorim
helps only the already rich farmer and has led to
r-
the impoverishment ofbthe-Xemple.
0

The Government, around this time, acted in a way

unfair to the Hindus. It began diverting surplus funds
from temples to social welfare projects for running
educational institutions and sometimes even putting up
public functions to receive ministers and other VIPS.
The noon-meal scheme, was started, and temple funds
were diverted towards meeting its expenses. There might be
nothing wrong in using temple money to feed i the needy but
the manner in which it was done, was questionable.
Devotees opposed the move on the ground that it
impoverished the smaller temples, which
needed the surplus funds from the bigger temples.

The temple, thus, has lost all its sanctity and

become the venue of exploitation. Though the Government
took over temple administration, for laudable reasons,
governmental control has led to the abuse of religious
places, much to the chaguim of the believing public.
With the assumption of the office of the Chief
Minister in 1991 SELVI J. JAYALALITHA took over the
portfolio of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment. She
 75

not only subscribed a huge sum (Rs. 10 lakhs) from her own
funds to assit the impoverished temples, but also brought
in a legislation to broad base the Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowment Act.

THE TAMIL NADU TEMPLES ADMINISTRATION BOARD

In order to effect changes in the constitution

of the Boards Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments
Administration and, through it, to exercises an efficient
control over maintenance, administration, worship and
religious festivals, an amended Hindu Religious and
Charitable Endowment Act, 1991 (Act 46/1991) has been
enacted to take effect from 13.12.1991.

Under this Act, the Tamil Nadu Temples

Administration Board will function at the state level.
Provision has been made to establish Boards the District
Level, through this body. Honorable Chief Minister,
Selvi J. JAYALALITHA will head the Board.
The State-level Board is vested with the power to appoint
Trustees of Temples for regulating and supervising the
administration of such temples whose annual earning is Rs.l
lakhs and above. The power to appoint trustees to these
temples whose annual income is less than Rs.l lakh is vested
with the District Boards.
 76

There will be eight official and nine non-

official members in the Tamil Nadu Administration Board,
headed by the Chief Minister. One non-official member will
be an Adi Dravida or from a Scheduled Tribe.

The Commissioner of the Department of Hindu

Religious and Charitable Endowment will be the Secretary of
the District level Temples Administration Board.
Except the judicial powers exercised so far by the
0

Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant

Commissioner, the rest of the powers will be exercised by
the Tamil Nadu Temples Administration Board and District
Temples Administration Boards.
Under the Act that has come into effect from
13.12.1991, the state-level Temples Administration Board
is
constituted with the following members:
Honourable Chief Minister Selvi J. JAYALALITHA,
Chair Person; (By virtue of office).

Honourable Transport Minister, Mr. A. Senkottaiyan,Member

Honourable Adi Dravida Welfare Minister Mr. M. Anandan,

Member.

Secretary to Government, H.K. & C.E. Department - Member

(by virtue of office)

Commissioner, H.R. & C.E. - Member (by virtue of Office)

 77

Official Members
Chief Secretary
Revenue Secretary
Chief Engineer (Buildings) Madras
Director of A^rchalogical Government of Tamil Nadu,Madras

Non-Official Members

Kancheepuram Division Trust

Thiru T.S. Santhanam, Director, Sundaram Finance.

Thiru P. Sivanthi Adhithan.

Thiru M.A.M. Ramasami

Allur Visvanatha Sivachariar, Allur
Thiru K, parasaran, Ex. Legal Advisor,Government of India

Vanamamalai Jeeyar

Agnihotram Ramanuja Thattachariar

Srimati Rani T. Indira Devi, Ramanathapuram

The Tamil Nadu Temples Administration Board has

started functioning.
District Temples Administration Boards will have a
Chairman and eleven members. The Tamil Nadu Temples
Administration. Board will appoint the District Temple
Administration Boards and their heads. In the District
Board, a member will be from the Scheduled Tribe. The
Secretary of the Boards will be either the Deputy
Comraisisoner or the Assistant Commissioner. The District
 78
Board will appoint non-hereditary trustees of the temples
whose income is below Es.l lakhs.

The District Temples Administration Board will -

exercise the all powers except those judicial powers which
were vested with the Deputy and Assistant Commissioners.

Since this amended Act has come into force from

13.12.1991, the hitherto existing Divisional (zonal)
committees have been abolished. Moreover, the services of
the hereditary trustees appointed under the Hindu Religious
and Charitable Endowments Act have been terminated.

Thus, the H.R.& C.E. Department has provided a

broad basis for the administration of temples in Tamil Nadu.
Though the functioning of the Department is vitiated by
vested interests, it has subserved the purpose of effecting
a control over the affairs of the temples.