The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is said to deposit about 500 kg of gold in the Reserve Bank of India’s gold monetisation scheme. The board has completed a massive exercise to index the stock lying at various temples and strongrooms.
An approximate annual return of Rs 5 crore is expected from the deposit. The board will however go ahead with the plan only after obtaining sanction from the High Court.
“The inventorying is over and a reverification is being done now. The preliminary assessment showed that about 500kg of gold can be spared for the monetisation scheme. It does not include ornaments or items of ritualistic significance,” TDB president N Vasu.
The gold deposited under the scheme are mostly valuables donated by devotees in the form of coins, ornaments and figurines. The pandemic caused severe stress to the board, owing to which its revenues declined drastically; its collection comes from the 1,200-odd temples that come under its fold.
The board is now dependent on government grants to meet the salary, pension and establishment costs, which fall in `40-`45 lakh range a month.
According to Vasu, the revenue from the monetisation scheme will come as a big relief but it is still insufficient to meet the revenue shortfall suffered due to Covid. The board has therefore embarked on several steps like increasing the non-temple revenue and rationalising the expenditure. The inventorying has helped the board get exact data on the gold and silver collections, gems and other valuables.
The board has also initiated steps to auction unused lamps and wares at temples. It will begin after obtaining the High Court’s permission. There is a huge stock of lamps and wares lying idle in temples which were donated by devotees.
