i

Report of The Committee

on Service Issues of Temple Employees

ii

Table of Contents 1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 METHODOLOGY ADOPTED BY THE COMMITTEE ...................................................................... 2 2 FEASIBILITY OF PRC SCALE TO TEMPLE EMPLOYEES.................................................... 3

2.1 STATUS OF TEMPLE EMPLOYEES VIS--VIS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES .................................. 3 2.2 FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING 2010 PRC.............................................................................. 7

2.2.1 Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2 Scope of Section 65-A Fund............................................................................................ 13

3 FEASIBILITY OF IMPLEMENTING PENSION SCHEME FOR MAJOR TEMPLES .......... 32 4 ISSUE OF COMPASSIONATE APPOINTMENTS.................................................................... 33 5 ENHANCEMENT OF CONTRIBUTION TO ENDOWMENTS ADMINISTRATION FUND, COMMON GOOD FUND AND OTHER STATUTORY CONTRIBUTIONS................................... 33

5.1 ENDOWMENTS ADMINISTRATION FUND.................................................................................. 33 5.1.1 Legal History of Endowments Administration Fund ....................................................... 33 5.1.2 History of Andhra Pradesh Endowments Administration Fund............................................. 34 5.1.3 History of amendments to Sec 65........................................................................................... 35 5.1.4 Implementation of amended Sec 65 through Act 33 of 2007 .................................................. 37 5.1.5 Working of Andhra Pradesh Endowments Administration Fund........................................... 41 5.1.6 Analysis of Expenditure of Endowments Administration Fund ............................................. 43 5.1.7 TTDs Contribution to Endowments Administration Fund .................................................... 43

5.2 SEC 65-A, ARCHAKAS, OTHER OFFICE HOLDERS AND SERVANTS SALARY AND OTHER EMOLUMENT FUND:........................................................................................................................... 46 5.3 COMMON GOOD FUND AND OTHER STATUTORY FUNDS......................................................... 46

5.3.1 TTD Contribution to CGF and Archaka Welfare Fund. ........................................................ 47 6 REGULARIZATION OF SERVICES OF THE EMPLOYEES WORKING IN THE CADRE OF NMR, CONSOLIDATED, CONTRACT BASIS, DAILY WAGES AND OUTSOURCING ETC, IN ALL THE A.P CHARITABLE AND HINDU RELIGIOUS ENDOWMENTS DEPARTMENT. 48 7 SUMMARY OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.......................................................................... 49

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1 INTRODUCTION

The tenets of Hinduism strongly believed in universal oneness Vasudaika Kutumbam treating human being as one of the creatures in the universal family of living beings including animals and plants. One of the basic tenets of this religion is that a human being is supposed to live for the happiness of fellow living beings. Temple worship which is central to the culture of this religion today is unfortunately going through a phase of lopsided priorities. It is afflicted with some shortcomings some of which are:-

a) Increasing revenues for a selected few temples and falling revenues/ footfalls in other temples.

b) Increasing number of sick temples with the temples with annual income below Rs.50,000/- now numbering more than 30,000 especially in rural areas.

c) Increasing forcible occupation of temple lands and exploitation of temple properties by local mafia, consequential falling revenues to the temples

d) Increasing materialistic outlook, falling values in society resulting in social unrest coupled with increasing crime and lawlessness.

e) Increasing disconnect between temple employees and devotees

Every segment of the larger Society comprising of Government, devotees and temple staff have contributed to this situation. All of them have to take responsibility and restructure the whole edifice to bring it closer to the tenets of a Hindu society. There is need to catalyze a reform process in this area to bring about a strong bondage in the Society aiming at a Vasudevakuntumbam. Government of Andhra Pradesh realized this fact and took several steps in the right direction such as enactment of amendment to Endowments Act in the form of Act 33/2007, constitution of Dharmik Parishad etc. Presently, it is looking at the issue of keeping the temple staff in comfort and as a step in the right direction constituted a Committee through G.O.Ms.No.1303 Revenue (Endowments-I) Department dated 20-10-2010 with four representatives of the Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad viz.,:-

1) Sri Justice A.Venkatrami Reddy, Chairman 2) Sri M.V.S.Prasad, I.A.S., (Retd) 3) Sri Prof M.V.Soundararajan, Hereditary Trustee, Chilkur 4) Sri A.Chengappa, I.A.S. (Retd.)

Subsequently due to unavoidable circumstances the Government issued G.O.Ms.No.1395 dated 24-11-2010 modifying the membership of the Committee as follows:

1) Justice P.Jagannadham Naidu, District Judge (Retd.,) 2) Sri M.V.S.Prasad, I.A.S. (Retd.) 3) Sri Prof M.V.Soundararajan

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through the letter No.A2/32965/2010 dated 8-12-2010 Sri K.Narasimha Murthy a noted financial expert was added as a coopted member

The Committee was constituted in the light of several representations from various Temple Employees Associations requesting the Government for implementation of the Pay Revision Commission scale to the employees of various cadres of temple employees with Pension Schemes, Compassionate appointments, regularization etc. The Government while giving two months time for the Committee to give its final report also set the following terms of reference for the Committee through G.O.Ms.No.1303 Revenue (Endowments-I) Department dated 20-10-2010.

(a) to examine the feasibility of extension of PRC scale to employees working in temples (Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner cadre) keeping in view the financial status of the temples.

(b) to examine the feasibility of implementing a pension scheme for major temples (Joint Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner Cadre) temples

(c) to examine issue of compassionate appointments in temples

(d) to examine the feasibility for enhancement of present Common Good Fund and Employees Administration Fund and other statutory contributions and

(e) to examine the issue relating to regularization of services of the employees working in the cadre of NMR, consolidated, contract basis, daily wages and outsourcing etc., in all the A.P.Charitable and Hindu Religious Endowments Department.

1.1 Methodology Adopted by the Committee The temples should become vibrant with Dharmic activities conducting festivals, Brahmotsavams, Spiritual discourses and Religious cultural programs in addition to regular rituals strictly as per Agama Sastras. They should ensure good up keep of temples, provide adequate amenities to the devotees and treat the devotees with utmost respect. The temple activities coupled with the Hindu Dharma have to be spread in the catchment areas of temples for increase in footfalls and consequential increase in revenues to the temples. It should be remembered that the serving the devotees is nothing but serving God. Temple employees should recognize that devotees are dear to the Lord and the Archakas are the prime enablers for keeping the devotee-lord link to make them happy which will result in their spiritual enlightenment. Lord, in His own words has said several times that devotees are dearer to Him more than himself. Hence, satisfying the devotee will enable Lords satisfaction and result in sustaining and increasing revenues to the temples. The temple employees should also recognize that protecting temple properties and ensuring reasonable return on temple assets is essential for sustaining and increasing revenue. They should also recognize that their job security and well being is linked to the financial viability of the temple which again depends on the spread of Hindu belief and culture in the catchment area of temples. It is pertinent to note that unless the temple employees strictly follow the Hindu Dharmic life they cannot send right signals for popularizing Hindu culture in the temple catchment area which is essential for long term

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sustenance of Temple revenues and their viability which is again linked to the well being of temple employees.

The Committee keeps the above spirit while evolving solutions on issues referred to in the Terms of Reference (TOR) mentioned above. The Committee has adopted the following methodology to gather all the data required before formulating its opinion on the Terms of Reference.

1. A Public Notice was given as advertisement in various leading News Papers which appeared on 27-10-2010 bringing to the notice of all the Stake holders and the general public the details of the Terms of Reference of the Committee and the process that would be followed. The same is reproduced below

The Committee identified the key issues that must be addressed while considering the matters mentioned in items (a), (b), (c), (d) & (e)

The Committee also consulted all the stake holders, Temple Employees unions and other Organizations on the range of solutions that would answer the present situation and to promote the welfare of temples including all sections of the employees and to identify the optimal solutions for this purpose and to recommend a plan of action.

On receipt of the views and suggestions and after examination of the issues, the Committee held wide ranging consultation with people and associations who have given written representations before submitting its report to the Government.

2. The Committee also collected the required data from the Endowment Department Officials to formulate its view on the Terms of Reference.

In response to the public notice, the Committee received 66 representations from Organizations and individuals. In addition, 3 MLAs, 2 MLCs have sent their representations to the Committee. It also held discussions with 24 Organizations and individuals. It also had 20 number of sittings before formulating its recommendations to the Government in the form of the present report. It has held discussions with the officials of Endowments Department and the Commissioner, Endowments.

2 Feasibility of PRC Scale to Temple Employees

The first term of reference of the Committee is (a) To examine the feasibility of PRC scale to Employees working in temples (Joint

Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner cadre) keeping in view the financial status of the temples.

2.1 Status of Temple Employees vis--vis Government Employees

Before going into the issue we have to examine primarily the applicability of equation of the temple employees with the Government employees. This is primarily needed because of the

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differences in the income generated by the Government who are pay masters of Government employees as against the incomes generated by the temples who are the pay masters of the temple employees. We have also to recommend the fact that the temple employees do not have a consolidated fund from which they can be paid for. Each temple is a unit by itself and the scope for pooling of funds for payment for all the employees is a separate question. The parity of temple employees with Government employees was gone into by the High Court in W.P.No.1789/04, WP.No.24815/05 and W.P.150/06. Extracts of this Judgment and the Judgment of the Honble Supreme Court on this issue are at Annexure-I. Thus the employees of the Endowments Institutions are not Government Employees and they are not automatically entitled as a right to the same scales of pay given to Government Employees. Further as per Sec 57 (2) (a) (i) of the Endowments Act 30/87

Provided that the salaries of the religious and secular establishment shall not exceed thirty percent of its annual income calculated under Section 65

It is clear that the total expenditure towards the salaries cannot exceed 30% of the annual income as per Section 65.

The Pay and allowances of the Office Holders and Servants of Endowments Institutions are governed by the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Office Holders and Servants Service Rules, 2000 G.O.Ms.No. 888, Revenue (Endowments I) dated 8-12-2000. With regards to Pay and Allowances, the following are the Rules :-

Rule 5. Schedule of Establishment, pay and allowances : (1) Subject to the provisions of these rules and also the rules issued under Section 35(3) of the Act, and the guidelines issued by the Commissioner, the trustee of every Institution shall prepare a Schedule of establishment specifying the designation and the number of posts in each category of grade, their scales of pay, allowances, qualification, method of recruitment and submit the same to the Competent Authority for approval. The competent authority may approve the schedule with such alterations, additions or omissions as may be deemed necessary (2) The pay and emoluments of each office holder and servant shall be in accordance with the schedule of the establishment approved by the competent authority. (3) No alteration shall be made in the schedule of establishment except with the prior approval of the competent authority. Rule 36. Special Provisions for certain Temples: The following provisions in addition to the above rules except Rules 5 and 16 shall apply to the Office Holders and servants of the following eight institutions (1) Sri Varaha Lakshminarasimha Swamy Devasthanam, Simhachalam Vishakapatnam

District

(2) Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swamy Devasthanam, Annavaram, East Godavari District

(3) Sri Seetharama Chandra Swamy Devasthanam, Bhadrachalam, Khamam District (4) Sri Venkateswara Swamy Devasthanam, Dwaraka Tirumala, West Godavari District (5) Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Devasthanam, Vijayawada, Krishna District

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(6) Sri Raja Rajeswara Swamy Devasthanam, Vemulawada, Karimnagar District (7) Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam, Yadagirigutta Nalgonda District (8) Sri Bramarambha Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam, Srisailam, Kurnool District. Rule 43 Pay and Allowances :- (1) The Pay, Dearness Allowance and House Rent Allowances and Other Allowances of the employees shall be on par with the scales applicable to the State Government Employees of similar posts and status. Whenever there is revision to the State Government in the scales of pay, D.A, or HRA, in the case of State Government employees, the employees of these eight institutions will be eligible for such revision Pay, D.A. or H.R.A Provided that the salaries of the religious and secular establishment shall not exceed thirty percent of its annual income calculated under Section 65. (2) The formal approval of the Commissioner shall however be obtained before fixing the Pay, D.A, or H.R.A or other allowances, in the revised scales.

Thus, the legal position seems to be that for all temples there is no automatic application of Government Scales for both secular and religious employees. They are all bound by the 30% ceiling which applies equally to the eight major temples.

Further for the Archakas of all temples G.O.Ms. No. 858, Revenue ( Endowments-I), Dt 8-10-1997 , Rationalization of Pay Scales of Archakas of the Temples other than Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams was given based on the recommendations of the Pay Scales Committee and the Orders of the Supreme Court. Through G.O.Ms.No 261, Revenue ( Endowments-I), Dt 20-05-2002 The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Archakas and Other Office Holders and Servants Qualifications and Emoluments Rules, 2001 were issued in exercise of the Powers conferred under sub-section (3) of Section 35. Through these Rules, the Posts, mode of recruitment and revised Scales for the following religious category of employees were specified

1. Archaka 2. Vedaparayanadar 3. Saptha Sati and Sreevidya Parayanadar 4. Adhyapaka 5. Thevaram recitor 6. Paricharaka 7. Cook 8. Sannayi (Nadaswaram) 9. Dolu 10. Sruthi etc

Rule 11. Emoluments :- The emoluments payable to different posts other than those mentioned in Schedule-I shall be as specified in Schedule-II of these rules subject to revision by the Commissioner from time to time. The emoluments are payable from out of the incomes of the respective temples.

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Rule 12. Allowances :- The rates of Dearness Allowance, House Rent Allowance and City Compensatory Allowance to the posts specified in Schedules I and II shall be on par with the Rules rates payable to the secular employees from time to time.

The moment the scales of pay for the Religious Employees are revised under Rule 11 which has happened also subsequent to PRC 2005 it applies to all temples and each temple subject to the constraint on its income should as a first priority implement the revised scales for the Religious Employees. This is as per the commitment given based on the recommendations of the Pay-Scales Committee and the same has been recorded in the Judgment of the Supreme Court AIR 1997 SC 3702. While the above is the legal position with regards to the Temple Employees, in practice they have historically been extended the same Pay Scales as are drawn by the Government Employees subject to the above statutory constraints. They have been extended similar scales as the Government Employees up to PRC 2005 Scales wherever the income of the temple permits, while in many small temples where the income of the temple does not permit, the PRC 2005 scales have not been extended In light of the above legal and historical position we need to examine whether the said Temple Employees both Religious and Secular can be extended the benefits of PRC 2010 Pay Scales as demanded by them. The Government also amended both Sec 29 and Sec 65 of the Act through Act 34 of 1997 with a view to gain greater control over the Institutions through appointment of Executive Officers bypassing the statutory 30% limit.

Amendment of Section 29 of Act 30 of 1987 : In the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as the Principal Act), in Section 29, in sub-section (6), for the words and later recovered from the Institution or endowment concerned in accordance with procedure laid down in this Act, for the recovery of contribution from the institution or endowment the words and later recovered from the Endowments Administration Fund established under Section 29 of this Act, shall be substituted.

Amendment of Section 65 : In Section 65 of the Principal Act, in sub-section (1) for the words not exceeding seven percent the words of the actual expenditure incurred towards such services subject to a maximum of fifteen percent , shall be substituted.

Amendment of Section 69: In section 69 of the Principal Act, in sub-section (2), in Clause (a), in sub-clause (iv), the expression under subsection (6) of Section 29 and shall be omitted.

The effect of the above amendment was that the Executive Officer whose salary expenses had to be recovered from the Institution concerned and hence subject to the 30% statutory limit was changed to be recovered from the Endowments Administration Fund instead and because of which the contribution from the Institutions was hiked to 15 percent and his salary was now delinked from the statutory 30% limit specified in Sec 57 of the Act. The result of this action of the Government was that it created a difference between the Executive Officer and other Office holders in the same institutions and therefore when the Pay Scales of the Executive Officer was revised along with the staff in the head office of the Endowments Department, automatically the other secular employees in the institution who are performing tasks in the same institution have

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started to demand parity. This is the root cause of the problem and this is also a matter which is pending before the Supreme Court through the W.P No 290/1998

2.2 Feasibility of Implementing 2010 PRC

2.2.1 Data Analysis

Table 1 RJC Cadre Temples 2010 PRC Data

S.No Name of the Institution Zone

% Increase of

PRC2010

over

existing

emoluments

If 2010 PRC

Implemented

% of

Establishment

1

Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy

Devasthanam Simhachalam I 10.76% 49.13%

2

Sri Veera Venkata Satyanarayana Swamy

Devasthanam Annavaram I 14.34% 33.59%

3

Sri Venkateshwara Swamy Temple

Dwaraka Tirumala I 19.88% 29.04%

4

Sri Durga Malleshwara Swamy Temple

Vijaywada I 18.07% 41.04%

5

Sri Tirupathamma Ammawari Temple

Krishna Dt I 19.05% 29.18%

6

Sri Brahmaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy

Srisailam Kurnool District II 13.45% 26.21%

7

Sri Vara Siddhi Vinayaka Swamy Temple

Kanipakkam II 11.35% 14.91%

8 Sri Kalahastishawara Temple Chittor II 16.99% 18.06%

9

Sri Rajarajeshwari Swamy Temple

Vemulawada Karimnagar III 14.80% 42.03%

10

Lakshmi Naraswamy Temple

Yadagirigutta Nalgonda III 13.87% 43.47%

11

Sri Seeta Ramachandra Swamy Temple

Bhadrachalam Khammam III 11.54% 47.04%

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The above table summarizes the position with regards to the percentage of cost on establishment if the 2010 PRC is implemented in the RJC cadre temples. The above data has been provided by the Endowments Department and the Committee has noted that the percentage increase of the emoluments over existing emoluments is varying and also is lower than the general expectation of a PRC hike. The data needs to be verified and confirmed. Even assuming that the above data is accurate we find that only 5/11 RJC cadre temples (marked in bold above) qualify for implementation of the PRC 2010 scales as they are below 30% statutory limit of Sec 57. Table 2 DC Cadre Temples 2010 PRC Data

S.No Name of the Institution Zone

% Increase of

PRC2010 over

existing

emoluments

If 2010 PRC

Implemented %

of

Establishment

1

Sri Kanaka Maha Lakshmi

Ammawari

Temple Vishakapatnam I 8.09% 27.81%

2

Sri Maha Nandishwara Swamy

Temple

Kurnool II 14.90% 47.96%

3

Sri Nettikanti Anjenya Swamy

Temple

Kasapuram Ananthapur II 4.90% 28.77%

4

Hathiramji Mutt

Tirupathi Chittor Dt II 18.41% 39.32%

5

Sri Anjaneya Swamy Temple

Kondagattu Karimnagar District III 14.57% 32%

6

Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple

Komaravalli Cherial Warangal III 11.26% 30.03%

7

Sri Gnana Saraswathi Temple

Basara Adilabad District III 15.42% 34.68%

8

Sri Ganesh Temple Station Road

Secunderabad III 13.28% 50.65%

The above table summarizes the position with regards to the percentage of cost on establishment if the 2010 PRC is implemented in the DC Cadre temples. The above data has been provided by the Endowments Department and the Committee has noted that the percentage increase of the emoluments over existing emoluments is varying and also is lower than the general expectation of a PRC hike. The data needs to be verified and confirmed. Even assuming that the above data is accurate we find only 2/8 of the DC cadre temples (marked in bold above) qualify for implementation of PRC 2010 scales.

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Table 3 AC Cadre Temple PRC 2010 Data

S.No Name of the Institution Zone

% Increase of

PRC2010 over

existing

emoluments

If 2010 PRC

Implemented %

of

Establishment

1

Sri Suryanarayana Swamy Temple

Arasavalli Srikakulam District I 3.37% 29.19%

2

Sri Manas Trust

Vizianagaram I 10.89% 55.99%

3

Sri Pydithalli Ammavari Temple

Vizianagaram I 14.20% 43.39%

4

Sri Rameswara Swamy Temple

Ramatheerdham I 41.41% 39%

5

Sri Sampath Vinayagar Swamy

Temple

Vishakapatnam I 36.48% 9.99%

6

Sri Nookambika Ammavari Temple

Anakapalli I 14.78% 27.43%

7

Sri Talupulamma Ammavari Temple

Lova I 1117.12% 73%

8 Sri M.S.N Charities Kakinada I 9.07% 49%

9

Sri Mariadamma Ammavari Temple

Peddapuram I 45.00% 46.59%

10

Sri Hithakarini Samajam

Rajamundry I 29.57% 33.09%

11

Sri P.M.K. Choultry

Rajamundry I 66.99% 59.72%

12

Sri Laxmi Narasimha Swamy Temple

Antervedi I 26.91% 52.5%

13

Sri Balabalji Swamy Temple

Appanapalli I 86.67% 65.54%

14

Sri Mandeswara Swamy Temple

Mandapalli I 17.59% 26.95%

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15

Sri Mavullamma Ammavari Temple

Bhimavaram I -14.45% 15.16%

16

Sri Subramanyeswara Swamy Temple

Mopidevi I 11.95% 28%

17

Sri Venugopla Swamy Temple

Tenali I 13.95% 43.65%

18

Sri Subramanyaeswara Swamy Temple

Singarayapalam I 44.19% 33.09%

19

Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple

Tirumalagiri I 22.02% 26%

20

Sri Jaganadha Swamy &..

Lalapet Guntur II 59.81% 95.49%

21

Sri Bhavanarayana Swamy

Ponnur Guntur II 16.02% 89.3%

22

Sri Malleswara Swamy Temple

Pedakakini Guntur II 16.03% 36.13%

23

Sri Lakshmi Padmavathi Sametha

Sri Venkateswara Swamy

Tenali Guntur II 15.57% 46.07%

24

Sri Prasannanjeneya Swamy

Temple Singarakonda Praskasam II 30.72% 31.86%

25

Sri Malyadri Lakshmi Narasimha

Swamy Temple Praskasam II 15.17% 18.45%

26

Sri Penusila Lakshmi Narasimha

Swamy Temple Penchalakona

Nellore II 19.74% 22.22%

27

Sri Rajarajeshwari Ammavari

Devasthanam Nellore II 24.37% 25.57%

28

Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple

Zonnawada Nellore II 13.28% 26.92%

29

Sri Narasimha Swamy Temple

Urukonda Kurnool II 19.56% 16.75%

30

Sri Boyakonda Gangamma

Chowdapalli Chittor II 25.66% 16.02%

31

Sri Bugga Mutt Tirupathi

Chittor II 15.62% 42.9%

32

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy

Kadri Ananthapur II 11.60% 23.04%

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33

Sri Gavi Mutt Samsthanam

Uravakonda Ananthapur II 114.44% 76.53%

34

Sri Venkateshwara Swamy

Temple Chikkadpally III 29.07% 37.47%

35

Sri Yellamma Pochamma Temple

Begumpet III 16.24% 60.2%

36

Sri Ujjain Mahakali

Sec'bad III 18.73% 40%

37

Sri Jaganath Swamy

Ramgopal Trust

Sec'bad III 28.72% 22.65%

38

Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple

Keesaragutta III 30.48% 31.86%

39

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy

Nacharamgutta Warangal III 41.71% 84.14%

40

Sri Parvathi Jadala

Ramalingeshwara Swamy

Nalgonda III 28.08% 34.6%

41

Sri Venkateshwara Swamy

Temple

Manyamkonda III 29.84% 22.51%

The above table summarizes the position with regards to the percentage of expenditure on establishment if the 2010 PRC is implemented in the AC Cadre temples. The above data has been provided by the Endowments Department and the Committee has noted that the percentage increase of the emoluments over existing emoluments is varying and also is lower than the general expectation of a PRC hike. The data needs to be verified and corrected.

Even assuming that the above data is accurate we find that only 16/41 AC cadre temples qualify for implementation of PRC 2010 Scales.

Overall to summarize only 5/11 RJC, 2/8 DC and 16/41 AC cadre temples i.e 23/60 temples (38%) qualify for implementation of PRC 2010 Scales with the current data provided by the Endowments Department on the basis of legal position obtaining.

A number of representations have been received from the E.Os and other staff saying that there is a substantial hike in the percentage of expenditure on account of expenditure on the SPF Personnel, the pension payments and sanitary staff. It is their contention that if the expenditure on these items is not reckoned for the purpose of calculating the expenditure on establishment, then it is quite possible that there will be a substantial reduction in the percentage of expenditure

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on the establishment of temples. They have given some examples, wherein it was noticed, that the bills submitted by the SPF are not true reflection of the salaries drawn on the personnel actually deployed in their institutions. While a fresh recruit is deployed in the temple, the salaries of Sr. personnel of the same rank were billed resulting in a substantial hike in the bill. This apart, they have also mentioned that in temples like Simhachalam, the expenditure on SPF has gone up because of peculiar problem of deployment of personnel for protection of lands. Similarly they have also mentioned that earlier they used to debit the salaries of sanitary employees to the sanitary budget. But recently because of insistence from the Head Office they are showing the expenditure on the sanitary staff against Establishment. In some of the temples instead of drawing the pensions from out of the interests earned from the deposits made for the purpose, they are paying pensions from the regular income of the temples. This is also causing higher expenditure percentage on establishment. They have strongly urged that these items should be excluded from the costs on Establishment for the purpose of calculating the percentage of expenditure. We see some force in this argument. While we may not entirely agree with the suggestions made, we feel it would be reasonable to deduct the expenditure on the police force from the expenditure on establishment. Infact, we would strongly urge upon the State Government to bear the expenditure on deployment of such force as it emanates from a situation of law and order. While other religious denominations wherein such forces have been employed do not face a similar levy, the temples have been asked to pay for the staff deployed in respect of the temples. We therefore recommend that the State Government should bear the expenditure on the deployment of police force. Until such time State Government takes a decision, we recommend that this item should not be debited to the Establishment charges. Similarly in respect of pensions also, we feel that the temple should contribute a prescribed amount to the Pension Fund wherever pensions are being paid and it is out of the interest accrued on the deposits that the pension should be paid. We recommend that the costs on pension should also not be debited towards the Establishment charges wherever they are paid from temple funds and not from the interest accruals of Pension Fund. Further, unless the entire staff coming at the category as contingent, NMR and SPFs is completely deleted, it is not possible to increase the no. of institutions which would fall within 30% of expenditure. Since we are living with the fact that there is substantial recruitment outside the cadre strength, there is no alternative whether but to live with the situation as it is existing today. The only question that would arise is whether PRC is to be extended to: (1) Only to the 8 temples where it has been implemented on automatic basis alongwith State Government employees. 2) to take into consideration only the regular staff is computing 30% expenditure on staff; or 3) stick to the statutory limit of 30% expenditure on staff and extend PRC only to such temples as on spending less than 30% towards expenditure on staff.

While legally there can no exception to point No.3 mentioned above, taking practical and historical aspects into consideration, we would suggest that we accept the first point also. However, we would like to hasten to add that such step could not be legally correct. With regard to point No. 1 the Act itself prescribes a limit of 30% of the assessable income of the temples towards the establishment expenses. In G.O.Ms.No.201 dated 12-2-1982, the Government have extended all the benefits of PRC to the employees of the 8 temples subject however to the condition that it should not be beyond 30% of the assessable income. However it seems that this fiat of the Government has been implemented more in breach. All these 8 temples have been extended scales of pay notwithstanding they were exceeding 30% ceiling. Naturally this action in respect of these 8 temples has made other temples also demand a similar position. This trend

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should be arrested if not today, atleast at a later date. There is an immediate need to disassociate the salaries of the temple employees from the salaries of the Government. However, in view of the historical action on the part of these temples in extending pay scales as recommended by PRC from time to time we are constrained to allow this practice for the present. We strongly recommend that this practice should not be allowed to be continued beyond the present PRC scales. In respect of other institutions, we strongly recommend that the ceiling of 30% expenditure on staff would hold good and no exceptions should be given except in respect of the 8 temples that too for historical reasons. The other temples which have RJCs as EO but are not in the list of 8 temples would stand the test of 30% limit prescribed by law. As it is these 3templeswhich are other than 8 temples namely Kanipakam, Sri Kalahasthi and Penuganchiprolu according to the data furnished have expenditure less than 30% and as such there should be no difficulty in extending PRC scales to them. In respect of all the DC and AC cadre temples also, the 30% limit prescribed by the Act will have to be adhered to strictly. The Temple Employees Associations which gave representations and had also met the Committee and asked the Committee to explore the option of providing salaries to the Employees through the fund under Sec 65-A.

2.2.2 Scope of Section 65-A Fund

The concept of the und under Sec. 65-A can be traced to the following recommendation of C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer Commission report which formed the basis for the amendment Act 33 of 2007.

Summary of Recommendation (12) It is absolutely essential that the archakas and pujaries should be ensured a minimum living wage and their emoluments fixed in suitable grades for various categories in order that they may not resort to beggary or extortion. They should also be allowed the benefit of provident fund and pension at least in case of big temples which can afford the same. The facility of free residence near the temple should be provided as far as practicable. The minimum emoluments given in case of archakas in small temples should be at least at Rs 60 p.m in addition to dearness allowance and other allowances admissible to persons in Government service in the corresponding grades in State service. In cases where temples are out of their own resources unable to afford such payments, the pooling system already adverted to in respect of income of temples of the same sampradaya should be resorted to.

Further in view of Honble Supreme Court with regards to Imams:

In a series of decisions rendered by this Court it has been held that right to life enshrined in Article 21 means right to live with human dignity. It is too late in the day, therefore, to claim or urge that since Imams perform religious duties they are not entitled to any emoluments. Whatever may have been the ancient concept but it has undergone change and even in Muslim countries mosques are subsidized and the Imams are paid their remuneration.

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We are therefore, not willing to accept the submission that in our set up or in absence of any statutory provision in the Wakf Act the imams who look after the religious activities of mosques are not entitled to any remuneration. Much was argued on behalf of Union and Wakf Boards that their financial position was not such that they can meet the obligations of paying the Imams as they are being paid in the State of Panjab. It was also urged that the number of mosques is so large that it would entail heavy expenditure, which the boards of different States would not be able to bear. We do not find any correlation between the two. Financial difficulties of the institution cannot be above fundamental right of a citizen. If the boards have been entrusted with the responsibility of supervising and administering the Wakf then it is their duty to harness resources to pay those persons who perform the most important duty namely of leading community prayer in a mosque the very purpose for which it is created. (AIR 1993 SC 2086)

Following the thread of thought quoted above, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Select Committee as a way to accomplish the above pooling system concept recommended the following

Concomitantly, the Committee suggests that a separate fund should be created to meet the salary of archakas and other office holders and servants. There has been a persistent demand from about 20,000 personnel and this provision incorporated as 65(A) will address this concern about decent wages and timely payment of salaries to all eligible employees who have been appointed by the competent authorities as per the approved cadre strength of various institutions. An efficient salary disbursal mechanism through banks and effective accounting, audit systems have to be put in place to operationalize this resolve of the Committee. We do hope these changes will happen by the next financial year

On the basis of this recommendation, the Endowment Act was amended by addition of Sec 65-A through amendment Act 33 of 2007

Sec 65-A, Archakas, Other Office holders and servants salary and other Emolument Fund :- A fund shall be created and vested with the Commissioner for the purpose of payment of salaries and other emoluments to all such Archakas, office holders and servants of Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments published under Section 6 of the Act who have been appointed by Competent Authorities as per the sanctioned cadre strength following the prescribed procedure. Every such institution shall pay contribution annually to such fund at the rate prescribed from their annual income as defined under sub-section (5) of Section 65. The procedure for collection of contribution to and disbursement from the fund shall be such as may be prescribed.

Thus the entire purpose of this section is to pool resources of temples and pay salaries to all employees and in the process provide cross subsidy to the low income temple employees especially Archakas so that they can at a bare minimum get minimum wages (6,000 per month). A circular was issued by the Commissioner Endowments Circular No. D.P.C/52200/2009 Dt 23-06-2010 with regards to fixation of minimum consolidated remuneration payable to Archakas as resolved by the Dharmika Parishad in the meeting Dt

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19.05.2010. Further G.O.Ms.No.820 dated 1-7-2008 was issued which is reproduced herewith.

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It is very clear that the above G.O had not assessed the implication of PRC 2010 and given the fact that for almost all the temples we are unable to implement PRC 2010 it doesnt make sense to exempt the temples which are providing pension from the purview of Sec 65-A. Given that almost all temples would be close to 30% limit if we need to extend PRC 2010 it makes sense to make the contribution to the fund under Sec 65-A uniform 25% for all categories of temples instead of the current non-uniform contributions. 5% is left with temples for salaries towards NMR / Daily wages/ Outsourcing etc. Though the Term of Reference of the Committee was to explore the possibility of implementing PRC 2010 for RJC/DC/AC Cadre temples it is very clear that once Pay Scales for the Religious Employees of RJC/DC/AC cadre temples are revised under Rule 11 of The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Archakas and Other Office Holders and Servants Qualifications and Emoluments Rules, 2001.the same will apply to all Religious Employees working in same cadre in other temples especially when it is decided to pay salaries through the fund under Sec 65-A. Therefore we need to analyze the situation in other temples. While each temple is a unit with regards to fixing of pay and allowances for secular employees as per Rule 5 of Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Office Holders and Servants Service Rules, 2000 and eight temples are considered a unit as per Rule 36 and Rule 43 of the same Rules; the pay and allowances of Religious Employees of all temples except TTD are governed by Rule 11 of The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Archakas and Other Office Holders and Servants Qualifications and Emoluments Rules, 2001 subject of course to the statutory limit of 30% under Sec 57 which applies equally to both Religious and Secular Employees of all temples. An analysis of the similar data that we analyzed in the previous section for the RJC/DC/AC Cadre temples gives a very sad picture of the employee belonging to other temples with incomes ranging from 50,000/- onwards. There are people who have been extended regular pay scales but it is impossible to even implement PRC 2005 Scales leave alone PRC 2010 Scales. The question is why did we land up in this messy situation where we are forced to keep Temple Employees more so the Archakas in an impoverished condition?

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2.2.3 Why this Situation has arisen?

Prior to the enactment of the 1987 Act the Government was having control of very few temples. The temples were administered by the Hereditary Trustees who had complete control over decision on what salary to be paid to the employees of the temple and the Endowments Department was playing a regulatory role administering only the high income temples. The trustees were advancing money as well. The 1987 Act abolished both Hereditary Archakatvam and Hereditary Trusteeship and when the matter went to the Supreme Court. In A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu vs State of Andhra Pradesh [1996] 6 SCC 548 written submissions were filed by Telangana Archaka Samakhya in which it was pointed out that the operation of the impugned Act would result in deprival of the livelihood of the Archakas of 24,440 temples and the abolition of their hereditary rights and introduction of graded scales of pay were so burdensome that they would inevitably result in manifest violation of the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 25, 26 and 27 of the Constitution. In A.S. Narayana Deekshitulus case the Honble Supreme Court specifically took note of these facts mentioned in the written submissions and had inter-alia observed as under.

This information has been furnished in the written arguments submitted by Shri Markandeya but we did not have the occasion to have them verified during the course of hearing (AIR 1996 SC 1765 Para 132)

The Court also directed the State Govt. to constitute two committees, one to go into the question of rationalization of Pay Scales of all Archakas and Modality of payment of salary to them and the Second Committee was to enquire into and recommend the welfare measures for the Archakas and other employees. The Pay-Scales Committee found the situation to be far worse than what was filed in the written affidavit and referred to in the Judgment. It recommended exemption of low income temples from the purview of the Act. It also recommended exemption from Sec 144 for 6(C) category temples. Further it linked the abolition of emoluments under Sec 144 with simultaneous implementation of Pay-Scales linked to Government Scales. The Government did not agree with the recommendation of linking the Pay-Scales to that of the Government Scales while agreeing to the other recommendations of the Committee with regard to exempting low income temples from the purview of the Act and also to amend Sec 144 suitably to exempt 6(C) category temples. The report of the Pay Scales Committee along with the recommendations of the Govt were placed before the Honble Supreme Court. The Government made the following submission in its affidavit to the Honble Supreme Court.

Temples with such abnormally low incomes may be left to fend for themselves. The Honble Supreme Court took cognizance of the data given by the Pay-Scales committee, and also with the formulations of the Government on those recommendations, backing off from its earlier commitment to ensure rituals in all temples and paying salaries to all Archakas. The Supreme Court had no alternative but to review its earlier 1996 Judgment as the basic premise of the Judgment: state taking responsibility for rituals in all temples and paying salaries to Archakas was no longer valid. Therefore, the Supreme Court reviewed its own Judgment of 1996 In A.S. Narayana Deekshitulu etc., Vs State of Andhra Pradesh, AIR 1997 SC 3702 and gave the following recommendations

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1. Temples with income less than Rs 5 lacs should be allowed to be managed as before and the Govt should not take over the administration so that the current system of payments and emoluments will continue as before. To give effect to this the court asked the Govt to exempt these temples from the purview of the Act using powers under Sec 154. Thus it is clear that the court accepted that the hereditary system would continue as before in these temples. These temples should be left to fend for themselves.

2. In Temples with income less than Rs 5 lacs which were already under the active management of the Govt the Supreme Court gave recommendations on exempting these from provisions of Sec 144 wherever the Pay Scales could not be fixed and also asked the Govt to consider suitable amendments to Sec 144 and also to reduce staff in such temples. The court also indicated that wherever possible even the temples which are under the active management of the Govt if it is possible to exempt to do so under Sec 154. So that they can also be left to fend for themselves.

The observations of the Supreme Court in the 1997 Judgment AIR 1997 SC 3702 and the related issues are at Annexure-2. Though the Supreme Court had recommended exemption of 90% of temples from the purview of the Act and had also ordered that hereditary trustees should not be disturbed unless foul in management is proved , the department instead went ahead and implemented the provisions of the Act in thousands of such temples by appointing an EO or a Manager and other secular staff. It also mechanically disturbed the Hereditary Trustee even if the Temples were properly administered by appointing trustboards and EO/PIMs. It also extended G.O.Ms No 858 Revenue (Endowments I Dt 8-10-1997) Rationalization of Pay Scales of Archakas of the Temples other than Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams While the pay scales for all secular employees was religiously implemented and periodically revised the Pay scales and revisions was not implemented in the case of many Archakas and other Religious staff as there was no money to pay their salaries after paying the salaries of the secular employees and be within the 30% statutory limit. The fact that many Archaka families became impoverished and temples virtually closed down is clear from the following excerpt from the Statement of Objects and Reasons of Act 33 of 2007

Over the last two decades, there has been a substantial increase in pilgrim flow in certain temples while many of the old village temples have been languishing without any traditional rituals being performed. There have been numerous representations from the Archakas that a strict adherence to the provisions of the Act have created difficult conditions for Archakas to continue in the profession. On the one hand, the Act had abolished the Hereditary rights and simultaneously abolished share in Hundies and other offerings given by devotees to the temple. The assumption that Archakas would be able to get salaries and lead a decent life has not been borne out by experience over the last two decades. As a result, neither the Government is in a position to pay salaries nor has it been able to allow the Archakas to manage temples and have shares in Hundi, plate or any other Rusum in Archana or Seva ticket or any offering made by devotees. They were also not able to continue enjoyment of the lands allotted or allowed to be in their possession. As a result, many traditional Archaka families have become impoverished and the temples have virtually shut down. In addition, there have been complaints that traditional temple rituals are not being performed strictly as per the particular sastra governing the temple and the sanctity of the religious rituals as per the custom and usage is not being preserved. The Supreme Court had appreciated the need to preserve the customs and usage with a view to protect the sanctity of religious

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rituals in I.A.No. 7 in W.P.(C) No. 638 of 1987 and I.A. No. 3 in transfer case No. 170 of 1987.

The committee further recommends that as and when the present incumbent in the religious staff retires or demits office or otherwise, the person in their family should be considered on priority basis for filling of that post or allowing him to do the service to preserve the custom and usage taking into consideration suitably in rendering services apart from the qualification required. The Government has accepted the recommendations subject to all other things being equal in competitive requirement. However the main concern should be to preserve the customs and usage with a view to protect the sanctity of the religious rituals. The Government itself has been taking care to preserve the sanctity of the religious rituals. Nothing more needs to be said in this behalf. It is accordingly approved.

In order to remedy the situation the Government intends to amend the Act in order to revive the village temple system, preserve the sanctity of traditional rituals, customs and usage and provide livelihood to the Archaka families, Amendments to Sections 34 and 144 are intended to achieve these objectives. All political parties had unanimously accepted such amendments in a meeting held on 4-10-2004

The Pay Scales of Religious Employees defined in G.O.Ms.No 858 were subsequently revised through G.O.Ms.No. 261 Dt 20-5-2002 and Proceedings Dt 26.4.2006 and further revised through proceedings dated 16.10.2006 and 24.11.2006 bringing the scales in line with PRC 2005 scales. Now these need to be revised as per PRC 2010. The indiscriminate taking over of temples and increase in the secular staff in violation of the Orders of the Supreme Court has meant that it is now impossible to implement PRC 2010 scales for the Religious Employees due to the 30% establishment limit in majority of the temples. Also the lands given to Archakas in lieu of service were disturbed in many temples with the promise of payscales. The other impact was that the Endowments Department itself increased the expenditure as it now had to deal with lot more temples under its control which meant more Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, and Executive Officers etc. The observations by the Honble Andhra Pradesh High Court which are at Annexure-3 further illustrate the above point

2.2.3.1 Summary of Data Submitted by the Archaka Organizations It is said that rchaka sa hari ssakshaat meaning Archaka is personification of the deity himself. Respecting the religious sentiments, Honble Supreme Court while laying down the guidelines on remuneration gave the order of priority as Religious staff and secular staff which means from the assessable income first Archaka should be paid and then the religious staff and the balance will have to be paid to the secular staff including executive officer. On perusal of data, it is found that the order of priority has been reversed during implementation to our surprise. The priorities seem to be first to Executive Officer, to secular staff and later if there is some balance existing the Archakars will be paid. Owing to the above practice which has no legal sanction, Several Archakas have not been receiving salaries or receiving meagre salaries owing the application of 30% ceiling. Even in large temples the 30% ceiling is exceeded and same norms are followed. E.g., Simhachalam there are 73 religious staff and 205 secular staff. The costs of religious staff for 6(a) and 6(b) institutions is typically 5- 7.3% of establishment while that of secular staff is 21% of the establishment. In the case of Yadagirigutta, there are consistency issues but based on representation of Yadagirgutta staff and the EO Yadagirigutta, it is clear that the total salaries

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expenditure including all staff is close to 40% (10% higher than the ceiling of 30%). While for 6(c) temples Archakas draw between 3-18% of the total establishment cost. Table 4 : Establishment charges for Varahalakshmi Narasimhaswamy devasthanam, Simhachalam Year Assessable income

(Rs) Establishment charges (Rs)

%ge

2006-07 63589936 32544776 51.17 2007-08 54703521 41928070 76.64 2008-09 120847728 45105312 37.32 From the above Table it is clear that the 30% ceiling of establishment charges were never respected by the temple management. Vishakhapatnam and Kurnool district Archaka sanghas have represented that Archakas have been paid abominably low wages which have impoverished them and even if there is opportunity to implement PRCs it is not considered. In the case of temples having annual income below Rs 2 lakhs, where the directions of the Supreme court were to exempt them under section 144 of the act, this has not been implemented. As a result many temples have impoverished Archakas and staff. E.g. The salaries for Archakas for 6(c) temples range around Rs 10-20000 every year and sweepers, watchmen, attenders are also in similar range (see table below). Similar situation exists in all other districts. Table 5 Example Temples in Vishakhapatnam and Kurnool Income

(Rs) Temples Total

Archakas Annual Salary to archakas (Rs)

Total sweepers Annual Salary to sweepers (Rs)

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Sri Venkateswara swamy temple, Narasannapet

616111 60000 Salary not actually being paid

Sri Polipalli paidithalli ammavari temple

894058 24000 206928 110916 No PRC for Archaka. Others implemented

Lakshmana Balaji temple, Vekkili

250196 9600/- 45996/- 13248/- No PRC

Sri Mallikarjunaswamy temple, Ravivalasa

10,40,598 5000 No PRC

Sr Kottamma Ammavaari temple

10,80,850 Nominal No PRC

Sri Mukhalingeswara swamy temple

8,81,450 Nominal No PRC

Sri Pedda Jagannadha swamy temple, Ichapuram

6(b) 60000/- & 12000/-

49980/- and 29340/-

PRC 2005 implemented for secular staff

Sri Ramalingeswara swamy temple, Annavaram

6(b) 60000/- 106428/- PRC 2005 implemented for secular staff

Neelamani Durga Ammavaari temple, Pathapatnam

6(b) Not shown 132672/- 51792/- No archaka is registered

Sri Yendela Mallikarjunaswamy temple, Ravi valasa

6(b) 60000/- 149076/- 45540/- PRC implemented for secular staff

Sri Mukhalingeswara swamy temple, srimukhalingam

6(b) Not shown 179304/- 56988/- 33732/-

No archaka is registered

Srivenkateswara swamy temple Fazulbegpeta, srikakulam

6(b) 72000/- 87372/- 42000/- 33660/-

PRC not implemented for religious staff

Sri Uma Rudrakoteswara swamy temple, Gudiveedhi, Srikakulam

6(b) 18000/- 45936/- 34380/-

No PRC for religious staff

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Sri Kothamma Ammavari temple

6(b) Not shown 157944/- 49716/- No archaka?

Sri Venkateshwara swamy temple, chinnabazaar, Srikakulam

6(c) 24000/- 172632/- 27420/- No PRC for Archaka

Sri Syama sundara swamy temple, tekkali

6(c) 8400/- 49140/- No PRC for archaka

Sri Mookambika Ammavari temple, Ankapalli

6(a) Not registered

- 18 staff paid PRC

PRC for secular staff implemented

Sri Venkateswara & Vinayaka swamy temple, BHPV, Gajuwaka

6(b) 24000/- ( each for 3 archakas)

103212/- PRC not implemented for religious staff

Sri Ranganadha swamy temple Gudilova, Anandhapuram

6(c) 18000/- 18000/- No PRC

Sri Vigneswaraswamy temple, Vishakhapatnam

6(b) 21600/- 106032/- PRC only for secular staff

Sri Mahaganapthi sri prasanna venkateswara temple, Visakhapatnam

6(c) 72000/- 114192/-

Sri Venkateshwara swamy temple, Vaddadi 6(b)

6(b) 48000/- 182592/- No PRC for archakas

Sri Vigneswaraswamy temple, chodavaram

6(b) 30000/- 63216/- No PRC for archakas

Sri Yerimamba Ammavaari temple, Gananapuram

6(b) 72000/- 117648/- No PRC for Archakas

Sri Uma Neelakanteswara swamy temple, Railway new colony, Vishakhapatnam

6(b) 48000/- 105780/-

Sri Kasivisweswara swamy temple, Anakapalli

6(b) 24000/- 101628 61600 No PRC for Archaka

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Sri Chennakeshava & Anjaneyaswamy temple, Moolasagaram, Kurnool

6(b) 48000/- 187464 92772 No PRC for archakas

Sri Lakshmi Chennakeshavaswamy temple, Atmakur, Kurnool

6(b) 30000/- 62242/- No PRC for Archakas

Sri Rambhotla Devalayam, Kurnool

6(b) 14400/- 66000/- No PRC for Archakas

Sri Veeranarayanaswamy temple, Panyam, Kurnool

6(b) 21960/- 53256/- No PRC for archakas

In the above table there are examples where some 6(a)-6(c) temples have no registration of payments to Archakas. E.g. for Mookambika temple in Ankapalli which is a 6(a) temple. We are also indicating examples from Kurnool as sample in table below. Table 7 : Archaka salaries in Kurnool

Temple Annual income (Rs)

Annual Archaka salary (Rs)

Archaka salary as %ge of income

Sri Madhvaswamy temple, Goppadu 170534 12000 7.0 Srivenugopalaswamy temple, Gundepadu 71310 12000 16.8 Sri ChennaKeshavaswamy temple, Yerraguntla 193873 12000 6.2 Sri Chennakeshavaswamy temple, Peddayammanuru 31144 6000 19.3

Sri G.Nageswaraswamy temple & Sri Lakshmi Janardhanaswamy temple 193127 7200 3.7 Sri Madhvaswamy temple, Dornipadu 285323 7200 2.5 Sri Chennakeshavaswamy temple, Kampavallu 195876 14400 7.4 Sri Chennakeshavaswamy temple, peddakopperla 134371 14400 10.7

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Sri Chennakeshavaswamy temple, Akumallu 136232 18000 13.2 Sri Buggavenkateswara swamy temple, noppam 150383 18000 12.0 Sri Chennakeshavaswamy temple, Shivavaram 125340 19200 15.3 Sri Lomma Anajaneyaswamy temple, Gorinimanipalli 83748 19200 22.9 Sri Lakshmi Narasimhaswamy temple, kolimigundla 199704 30000 15.0 Sri Varadaraju swamy temple, tummalapeta 196371 30000 15.3

The salaries of Archakas range from 500 to 2500 per month. Consolidated cost of Archaka varies from 2 to 15% of the assessable income in the temples in case of 6(c), while in case of 6(a) and 6(b) it is between 5-7%. The salaries of manager range from 1.2 times to over 8 times the Archaka salaries and the salaries of Junior assistants range from 0.5 to 4 times the salaries of Archakas (see figures below).

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33

An

nu

al S

ala

ry (R

s)

Temples

archaka Manager Junior assistant/ attendent

Figure 1 : Comparison of Salaries between religious & secular staff across temples in Vishakhapatnam and Kurnool

25

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

0 20000 40000 60000 80000

Re

lati

ve

sa

lary

(%g

e o

f A

rch

ak

as)

Annual salary of Archakas (Rs)

Managers attendants

Figure 2 : Typical Relative salaries of Managers and Junior Attendants to the salaries of Archakas

2.2.3.2 What can be done to retrieve the Situation with regards to Archakas and Employees of other Temples?

The cumulative effect of the mismanagement of the affairs of the Religious Institutions by the Endowments Department has resulted in the present situation where many temple employees belonging to low income category especially Archakas and sweepers are not being paid decent salary and the vision with which the Government amended the legislation based on the report of the Select Committee is yet to materialize. The first and foremost thing that needs to be done so that the amended Act can be implemented at a fast pace is to implement the recommendation of the Select Committee

A semi autonomous Apex body called Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad is sought to be created to oversee the management of the entire temple system in the state. It would most likely discharge most of the functions being currently performed by the Government. It would have the authority and responsibility to institute appropriate administrative, financial and legal mechanisms to ensure that Endowments are preserved, dilapidated temples are renovated, temples become pilgrim-friendly, the rich traditions and cultural heritage are preserved and all stake holders participate in a

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spirit of partnership with devotion and dedication to bring temples back into social life as centers of moral education, human welfare, fine arts and architecture. It will not be merely an advisory body as envisaged earlier. It will be the policy making body with substantial autonomy to coordinate and facilitate better management of temples. The Sec 152 A(1) proposed in the amendment Bill is modified accordingly

The Government to delegate its powers and functions to Dharmika Parishad ( under Sec 152(3)). This is needed to ensure that the amended Act can be effectively implemented to bring about a sea change in the current environment.

The major objections raised by the Archakas and other temple employees as regards the huge amount of funds gained by making payments to the persons in the management who have been drawing salaries on pooling basis from different temples also. This is causing a huge drain on the income of the temples which are small in nature. Historically these persons in management are earlier employees of a temple and were drawing their salaries from that temple. The idea is that while being an employee of the temple they should supervise smaller temples. This arrangement has been made to effectively supervise functioning of smaller temples which were not being supervised earlier at all. The revised arrangement of the Managers supervising a number of temples and drawing salaries not from that temple but from a group of temples is causing considerable resentment. There seems to be some strength in this argument that instead of drawing salary from that temple from where they were earlier appointed they are drawing salary from different temples on being appointed as Managers and this is causing a heavy drain on smaller temples. To avoid this we suggest that the persons in Management should draw the salary from the parent temple from which they were drawing and they can be given supervising of temples. It is contended that the vacancies in which they were working earlier were filled up by appointment of substitutes. It is said that such appointments could be in excess of the posts sanctioned. We were also informed that recently Government have sanctioned 347 posts of Executive Officers. We feel that instead of filling up these posts with fresh recruits they could be filled up by recruitment from among the temple staff dispensing with direct recruitment and quotas from the Endowments Department by obtaining necessary sanction as a one time measure. Managers now working could be adjusted against the vacancies that arise out of appointment of Executive Officers. This way number of Managers can be accommodated in their parent temples or otherwise if they are eligible they can be promoted as Executive Officers. This is a step in the direction of abolition of Institution of Managers.

However we have noted that the Executive Officers of the Temples have always been paid from EAF and they have always had the benefit of the PRC scales being extended to them automatically along with other Government employees. All the benefits as are applicable to Government employees are being made applicable to the Executive Officers of the temples. The Executive Officers and other staff of the Endowments Department were always on an equal footing in so far as extensions of PRC scales are concerned. It is also significant to note that the salaries of the Executive Officers are never reckoned against 30% ceiling prescribed by the Act. They are invariably paid from the EAF to effectively their salaries would be covered by a fund to which there is a contribution of 12% by the temples. This 12% is generally calculated over and above the ceiling prescribed towards the establishment charges in section 57 of the Act. May be there is need to have a second look at this situation. Let us now analyze the financial position at a cumulative level.

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Table 8 Cumulative Data on Regular Employees in 2008 No of Employees (Regular) S.No MultiZone No of

Institutions With Scale Consolidated Total Salary and Other Emoluments in Crores

1 I 2,697 4,720 4,569 9,289 33.27 2 II 4,693 2,528 3,458 5,986 18.1 3 III 762 2,555 2,197 4,752 23.29 Total 8,152 9,803 10,224 20,027 74.67

Table 9 Secular Employees on Regular Pay Scales PA SUPDT SA JA RA Attender Sweeper Helpers Malies S.I

26 129 265 1123 515 1667 2423 144 85 18

Scanvengers Doctors Nurses E.E D.E.E A.E D.MAN W.I D.S Total Others Total

102 7 6 7 18 34 19 18 1 6607 10,482 17,089

Table 10 Religious Employees on Regular Pay Scales Archakas Veda

Pandits Sthana Charya

Paricharaka Cooks Asst Cooks

Bajanthries Others Total

1985 100 10 118 173 43 611 3764 6374

S.No Category No of Institutions Assessable Income in

Crores 1 Non Assessable Income

Below Rs 50,000 29,551

2 Assessable Income above Rs 50,000 below Rs 2 Lakhs

2007

31,558

25.14

3 Assessable Income above Rs 2 Lakhs but below Rs 5 lakhs

1000

6 Assessable Income above Rs 5 Lakhs but below Rs 25

336

1336

65.3

28

Lakhs

7 Assessable Income above Rs 25 Lakhs

123 123 208.24

TOTAL 33,017 33,017 298.68

Therefore the total number of Institutions above income of Rs 50,000 is 33,017 29,551 = 3466. At the same time the total Institutions which have Pay Scales both regular and consolidated = 8152 Which means that for 8192 3466 = 4726 Institutions which have income below 50,000 both regular and consolidated Pay Scales are being given. The only solution for fixing pay anomalies with regards to Religious employees and to provide basic emoluments in low income temples is through the Fund under Sec. 65-A as contemplated by the Select Committee. 2.2.3.2.1. Implementing Scheme under Section 144 A provision which has not been implemented effectively is the scheme concept under Sec 144 which was incorporated through amendment Act 33 of 2007 based on the following recommendation of the Select Committee.

The Select Committee deliberated upon the amendment to Section 144 which is intended to improve the financial status of low-income temples. The archakas and other office holders working in this temple would have an option to either take a share of the temple income or take the salaries wherever they find that they are not able to make a living from the lands or the offerings given by the devotees. Accordingly, the amendment as proposed was approved as this is in conformity with the observations of the Supreme Court, is in consonance with the objectives of the Government to augment income levels of small temples and gives an option to archakas and other office holders and servants to opt for a scheme that is more beneficial to them. The power to approve schemes where there are special circumstances necessitating such a formulation is being given to the Dharmika Parishad.

Under this situation a scheme has to be prepared in respect of temples where lands are with the Archakas. During our discussions with the Archakas and other religious employees, many of them especially from the Coastal districts, Kurnool and Karimnagar were mentioning that if these schemes are prepared and they are allowed, the benefits under such schemes, they would not be expecting any salaries. Effectively it would mean that there is no outflow of salaries from the temple funds for the Archakas. Even where there are small extents of lands the income derived out of those lands would meet some percentage of the salaries and to that extent would reduce the burden of the temples towards the payment of salaries. It is necessary that all such schemes will have to be prepared quickly so that an accurate assessment of the requirement of outflow of funds towards salaries could be arrived at.

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The scheme should also include reinstating the cash grants to Archakas under sul-se-sulsan rules in light of amendment to Sec.144. We are strongly recommending that the preparation of the schemes under Section 144 should be expedited and completed within the next six months and an option obtained from such religious staff as regards their preference either for salaries or for the produce from the lands earmarked for the religious staff.

2.2.3.3. Graphical Analysis of the Cumulative Data across all Temples

The following is a Graphical analysis of the data to enumerate areas of improvement

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Figure 3 Analysis of Staff Salaries across Districts

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Figure 4 Analysis of Staff Salaries across Temples

The above is an analysis of the Cost per Employee vs Income per Employee across all Districts and all Temples in the different regions. It is expected that as the Income per Employee increases the Cost per Employee should also increase (higher pay or more people in higher cadres etc) which is a general trend observed. But it also clear that this is not an uniform trend and there are significant aberrations which need to be looked into as the variation in Cost per Employee for a given Income per Employee across temples is a larger range. The data needs to be analyzed further and the variations have to be brought down as it indicates that the distribution of staffing is not scientific across the Institutions in terms of Cadre strength. These needs to be rationalized further so that the Graph has a more linear relationship between Cost per Employee v Income per Employee. As an example for a temple where income per employee is 4 lakhs the salary per employee ranges between Rs 10,000 to 1,80,000 per annum.

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Figure 5 Analysis of Assessable income as a percentage of Gross Income across Temples

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Figure 6 Analysis of Assessable Income as a percentage of Gross Income Across Districts

The above analysis in both the Graphs ( Temple wise and District wise) shows that there is significant variation in the assessable income as a percentage of Gross Income and where the percentages are lower there is scope for reducing the fixed expenditure. There are many districts/temples where the range is between 80% to 90% and this is the ideal band for all Institutions across all districts.

3 Feasibility of Implementing Pension Scheme for Major Temples

As is obvious from the previous section it is becoming extremely difficult to meet the salary of existing employees and giving them decent livelihood. The existing pension schemes in temples should be continued by creating a separate fund in each such temple and for future employees it needs to be based on a EPF approach where there is a contribution towards a separate PF account instead of a promised pension as is the case with Government Employees. The question of continuing Pension Scheme in Government is getting a relook including the Govt. of India based on the latest report of Central PRC. With longevity of employees after retirement rising and the additional benefits being sought by the pensioners mounting up the extension of pensionary benefits to Govt. employees itself is posing a problem.

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Even the State Government has done away with the Pension Scheme. The Pension Scheme as is now obtaining in certain temples should not be looked into at all. Instead the pension scheme on a contributory basis as is applicable to State Government employees should be adopted. For this purpose a scheme will have to be prepared to arrive at contributions to be made by the employer and the employees and that fund will have to be generated separately and kept in deposit with clear instruction that it should not be used for any other purpose other then pension. In the alternative a scheme is being worked out by the Executive Officer, Dwaraka Tirumala Devasthanam in consultation with LIC and the banks. This could be considered as an alternative in respect of pension scheme to the employees.

4 Issue of Compassionate Appointments There is a scheme of Compassionate Appointment in the Government. For various reasons Government also one time considered doing away with the Scheme. But no such Scheme is available to employees working in the temples. Obviously there are many difficulties in extending this benefit to the employees of the temples and other endowments for the simple reason that temples or endowments are very small units and there is little scope for utilization of the services of the dependants of those who die on a larger canvas. However, it would be appropriate to extend the scheme of Compassionate Appointment which is available in the Government to the employees of the temples and other endowments. We would recommend that a temple or an Endowment would be treated as the unit for this purpose and the applicability would have to be with reference to the qualifications prescribed for the post to which the deceased employees children are to be appointed. We however take note of the fact that in respect of religious staff, there is already a provision for appointment of the children of the deceased religious staff.

Temples shall not form a unit for the Collectors/Government for allotting candidates from among the dependants of deceased Government employees.

5 Enhancement of Contribution to Endowments Administration Fund, Common Good Fund and other Statutory Contributions

5.1 Endowments Administration Fund

5.1.1 Legal History of Endowments Administration Fund

The history of the EAF can be traced to the legal history of Sec 76 of the Madras Endowments Act which was struck down by the Supreme Court in the Shirur Mutt case. Various Judgments and comments thereon are at Annexure-IV

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5.1.2 History of Andhra Pradesh Endowments Administration Fund

The Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act 1966 incorporates the provisions of the Sec 76 and Sec 81 of the Madras Act as amended by the 1954 Act in response to the defects pointed out in the Shirur Mutt case.

Sec 59 : Liability of Institution or endowment or Dharmadayam to pay annual contribution : - (1) In respect of the services rendered by the Government and their employees every charitable or religious institutions or endowment or Dharmadayam whose annual income is not less than rupees one thousand shall be liable to pay to the Government annually from the income derived by it, such contribution not exceeding seven percent of the annual income as may be prescribed (2) The contribution which an institution or endowment is liable to pay under sub-section (1) shall be paid annually to Endowments Administration Fund. ..

Sec 64 : Establishment of Endowments Administration Fund (1) There shall be established a fund to be called the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Endowments Administration Fund. The Endowments Administration Fund shall vest in the Commissioner. (2) (a) The following amounts shall be credited to the Endowments Administration Fund, namely :- (i) the assets which devolved on the Government under Section 101 of the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act 1951 (hereinafter in this section referred to as 1951 Act) (ii) the balance in the fund constituted under Section 76 of 1951 Act (iii) the sums due to the Government under Section 76 of 1951 Act when realized (iv) the contributions payable under sub-section (1) of Section 59 of this Act when realized. ..

(3) The Commissioner shall out of the said fund repay to the Government (i) the sums paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the State in the first instance towards the salaries, allowances, pensions and other remuneration of persons appointed by the Government for rendering services under any of the provisions of this Act;.

It is very clear that the provisions of the 1966 Act are based on the Madras Act and in accordance with the law laid down by the Courts. The Justice Challa Kondiah Commission describes the entire legal history of the said provisions and the same is again reincorporated in the 1987 Act in the following way

Sec 65. Liability of Institution or endowment or Dharmadayam to pay annual contribution and audit fees:- (1) In respect of the services rendered by the Government and their employees, every charitable or religious institution or endowment or Dharmadayam other than Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams whose annual income is not less than rupees five thousand, shall be liable to pay to the

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Government annually from the income derived by it, such contribution not exceeding seven percent of the annual of the annual income as may be prescribed. .

Sec 69 : Establishment of Endowments Administration Fund (1) There shall be established a fund to be called the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Administration Fund. The Endowments Administration Fund shall vest in the Commissioner. (2) (a) The following amounts shall be credited to the Endowments Administration Fund, namely :- (i) the balance in the fund constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1966 (ii) the sum due to the Government under Section 64 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Act, 1966. (iii) the contributions and audit fee payable under sub-section (1) of section 65 when realized. ...

(3) The Commissioner shall out of the said fund repay to the Government (i) the sums paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the State in the first instance towards the salaries, allowances, pensions and other remuneration of persons appointed by the Government for rendering services under any of the provisions of this Act;.

So in a nutshell the AP Endowments Act 1966 and the un amended AP Endowments Act 1987 visualized a similar structure as envisaged in Sec 76 and Sec 81 of the Madras Endowments Act through Sec 65 and Sec 69 of the Act. The components are

a) A fund called Endowments Administration Fund will be created and vest in the Commissioner b) All the contributions in return for the services rendered will be paid into the

Endowments Administration Fund by the Institutions. The Contributions will be subject to a maximum of 7 percent of the annual income.

c) In the first instance the Government will pay salaries to the employees out of the Consolidated Fund of the State and the same will be repaid by the Commissioner from the Endowments Administration Fund.

5.1.3 History of amendments to Sec 65

In the year 1997 the Government brought an amendment to Sec 65 through Act 34 of 1997 whereby it was decided to repay to the Government the salaries of the Executive Officers which was in the first instance paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the State from the Endowments Administration Fund as against the recovery from the temple concerned. Simultaneously the maximum limit which was seven percent was raised to 15 percent. This particular amendment and the increase of the contribution from 7% to 15% were challenged by Telangana Archaka Samakhya through the WP 290 of 1998 which is currently pending before the Honble Supreme Court.

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In response to the contention raised in the Writ Petition WP 290 of 1998 and given that there is large surplus accumulated as predicted in the petition making the levy more as a tax than a fee and to save the Section from being struck down by the Hoble Supreme Court in the pending Writ Petition based on the ratio of the judgement in State of Maharashtra v The Salvation Army Western India Territory AIR 1975 SC846 ; Section 65 of the Act was further amended in the year 2007 through amendment Act 33 of 2007 and it now reads as follows

Sec 65. Liability of Institution or endowment or Dharmadayam to pay annual contribution and audit fees:- (1) In respect of the services rendered by the Government and their employees, every charitable or religious institution or endowment or Dharmadayam other than Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams whose annual income is not less than rupees fifty thousand, shall be liable to pay to the Government annually from the income derived by it, such contribution of the actual expenditure incurred towards such services of the annual income as may be prescribed.

The above amendment to the Act was in response to the recommendations of the Andhra Pradesh Select Committee which gave the following recommendation

Taking the argument further, the select committee felt that the smaller institutions should not be required to contribute to the Endowments Administration Fund or Common Good Fund. While currently, all institutions having income more than Rs 5000 have to contribute to these funds, the Committee recommends that Institutions with income less than Rs 50,000 need not pay any contribution. Accordingly changes are proposed in Section 65(1). The Committee felt that it would not be realistic to fix what the contribution to EAF and CGF should be in the Act because the needs of the system and the financial flows into the fund are constantly changing and therefore, it would be ideal if the proposed Dharmika Parishad can be empowered to take the decision on the quantum of contribution from each category of institutions. Concomitantly, the Committee suggests that a separate fund should be created to meet the salary of archakas and other office holders and servants. There has been a persistent demand from about 20,000 personnel and this provision incorporated as 65(A) will address this concern about decent wages and timely payment of salaries to all eligible employees who have been appointed by the competent authorities as per the approved cadre strength of various institutions. An efficient salary disbursal mechanism through banks and effective accounting, audit systems have to be put in place to operationalize this resolve of the Committee. We do hope these changes will happen by the next financial year.

Thus through the amendment the maximum limit of 15% has been removed and it is now made clear that the contribution has to be equal to the actual expenditure and the levy needs to be prescribed through the Rule making power delegated to the Andhra Pradesh Dharmika Parishad taking into account the surplus thus bringing the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Act in line with the requirement set by the judgment of the Honble Supreme Court in State of Maharashtra v The Salvation Army Western India Territory AIR 1975 SC846 and Honble Madras High Court in AIR 1956 Mad 491 Shri H.H. Sudhindra Thirtha Swamiar, Senior Swamiar Of Puthige Mutt And Ors. vs The Commissioner Of Hindu Religious And Charitable Endowments And Anr.

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The following observation Honble Madras High Court which is reproduced once again makes this aspect clear

Statutory provisions are meant to be comparatively more static than the Rules framed under the Act. If a real co-relation is to be maintained at all times between the fee actually levied and the service rendered, for which the fee is levied, the advantage of a flexible machinery like a delegated rule making power should be obvious. Now that there is a separate fund administered by the Commissioner it should be easier for the Government to exercise its delegated power well within the legal limits. If there is a surplus of income over expenditure, the Government can and is obviously expected to revise the rates of levy, to keep as near as possible to the real quid pro quo basis for the levy of the fee. The need for such periodical revisions is implicit, when the Act specifies only the maximum and entrusts the duty of fixing the quantum of levy within that maximum to the Government, as the authority empowered by the Legislature to frame the necessary rules. It may be an onerous responsibility. But that is implicit in a greater or lesser degree in every case of lawful delegation of powers. The rule has to be intra vires the rule-making authority. Even if Section 76(1) is valid that would not by itself validate the "prescribed" rate, that is, the rate prescribed from time to time, the validity of which will have to be substantiated if it is challenged. In the very nature of things, there can be nothing static about the rates to be prescribed for the levy authorised by Section 76(1)

5.1.4 Implementation of amended Sec 65 through Act 33 of 2007

The following Table and the Graphical representation of the same give an idea of how the EAF is functioning and the extent of surplus that is accumulated over the years.

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Table 11 : EAF Data Across Years

Year Income Expenditure Surplus

1986-87 1.6738239 1.6055308 0.0682931

1987-88 1.946457 2.0563223 -0.1098653

1988-89 2.5542948 2.2000605 0.3542343

1989-90 2.2790777 2.5486707 -0.269593

1990-91 2.4589051 2.4301368 0.0287683

1991-92 3.6178265 2.8321825 0.785644

1992-93 2.7915116 3.1056762 -0.3141646