Rs. 169 crore funds in Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority; No discussion on Ropeway Project

Mysuru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who chaired the maiden meeting of newly formed Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority yesterday, took key decisions including formation of a new Task Force to prevent crimes, plan for comprehensive development of the temple, renovation of Dasoha Bhavan and five-year Master Plan for the development of the Hill temple.

Presiding over the meeting organised at Dasoha Bhavan in Chamundi Hill, that lasted three hours, Siddaramaiah shared the details related to the discussions and deliberations of the meeting of the Authority, at the press conference later.

Restoration of five temples

Stating that several thousands of devotees visit the Chamundi Hill daily, he said some of the works are either completed or remain incomplete. It has been decided to complete those works and then take up works on comprehensive development of the temple and the hill. A total of 24 temples are located in the jurisdiction of Chamundeshwari temple and it has been decided to develop them. The five temples — Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple,  Gayatri Ammanavara temple, Bhuvaneshwari temple, Varaha Swamy temple and Kote Anjaneyaswamy temple — that fall in the jurisdiction of Chamundeshwari temple will also be restored, with a suitable decision taken in this regard, he said.

PRASHAD Scheme

Under the Central Government’s “Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme, Chamundi Hill is being developed, but still there is a requirement for additional Rs. 11 crore that would be borne by the State Government. The officers have been instructed to complete the works taken up prior to the formation of Chamundeshwari Development Authority, including the works on supplying drinking water to the hill, the CM said.

Plastic Free

The first priority is towards maintaining the cleanliness of the hill. Though the civil works of waste disposal unit has been completed, the electricity connection is not provided yet. Officers have been instructed to provide electricity connection to facilitate functioning of the unit to make the hill ‘Plastic Free,’ he added.

Photography prohibited

The CM also informed that, photography is prohibited within the temple and the rule on switching off the mobile phone soon after entering the temple premises, will be strictly enforced. The temple staff will be given health facilities and their children will be provided education.

The area around Devikere and Nandi Statue will also be developed towards making the Chamundi Hill more attractive. The steps leading to the hilltop from the foothill will also be developed for the benefit of devotees. The adequate electricity connection shall be provided to the hill and the street lamps will be installed at essential places, said the CM.

Other Temple Authorities

Earlier, the Deputy Commissioner-headed Committee had Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on board. Now, the Authority has been formed on the lines of Huligemma temple, Saundatti Yellamma temple and Ghati Subramanya Swamy temple.

District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, Transport Minister R. Ramalinga Reddy, who also holds Muzrai portfolio, Tourism Minister H.K. Patil, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Sericulture K. Venkatesh, Chamundeshwari MLA G.T. Devegowda, Chamaraja MLA K. Harishgowda, K.R. Nagar MLA D. Ravishankar, MLCs Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, Dr. D. Thimmaiah, C.N. Manjegowda and K. Vivekananda,  Principal Secretary of Muzrai Department Rajendra Kumar Kataria, Director of Tourism Department Dr. K.V. Rajendra,  Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, DIGP (Southern Range) Dr. B. Boralingaiah,  City Police Commissioner Seema Latkar and ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri  were present.

Rs. 169 crore in Temple Development Authority

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said that Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority has Rs.169 crore funds, with additional Rs. 20 crore in its  Savings Bank (SB) Account.

The Authority has a Fixed Deposit (FD) of Rs. 1,62,51,35,023, temple puduvattu-Rs. 3,61,99,301 and dasoha puduvattu – Rs. 3,08,69,635 totalling Rs. 1,69,22,03,977.

Briefing about the expenditure of the year 2023-24, Siddaramaiah said, a revenue of Rs. 43.64 crore has been generated by the temple, with the expenditure of Rs. 21 crore, with Rs. 22 crore remaining in the account. Till July 2024, the revenue generated is Rs. 17.04 crore and the expenditure is Rs. 6.97 crore, with Rs. 10 crore remaining in the account. The year-on-year growth in revenue is being witnessed, with Shakti scheme introduced by the Government being one of the prime contributors to the increase in revenue, with the rise in number of devotees visiting the temple.

Taking all these into cognisance, CM Siddaramaiah said, there is no dearth of funds for the development of Chamundeshwari temple and the hill.

No discussion on Ropeway Project

Siddaramaiah also clarified that there was no discussion on implementing Ropeway Project at the hill. The project was conceived long ago only to draw flak from environmentalists.

In addition to this, no permission was issued to the project from the Department of Ecology and Forest. In this wake, the project was not taken up for discussion at the meeting.

However, the officers have been instructed to complete the works related to Nandi Statue road atop the hill.

Master Plan for Hill development

The officers have been instructed by the CM to chalk out a Master Plan, with a thrust on five-year vision. Besides, instructions have been given to stop illegal construction of buildings atop Chamundi Hill and prevent possibilities of any such works in the future.

Instructions have been also given to survey the temple assets and identify any encroachment of the temple land and take action to reclaim them by clearing the encroachment.

No dress code at temple

CM Siddaramaiah also clarified that, no dress code will be implemented at Chamundeshwari temple. The devotees, irrespective of faith, can visit the temple and also there would be no discrimination among genders. Clear instructions have been given to treat the devotees with a secular approach at the temple, without imposing any restrictions on them.

Task Force to check crime

Siddaramaiah said, a Task Force will be constituted to check any criminal activities at Chamundi Hill, with focus on creating safe environs. Smoking and chewing of tobacco products are also prohibited atop the Hill. Besides, CCTV cameras will be installed at essential locations, with the Bank of India authorities evincing interest to sponsor the works under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.