Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has initiated a major overhaul of security and transparency measures across all state-owned and managed temples, citing recent allegations of donation theft and misappropriation at the Ayodhya Ram Temple as the trigger for the decision.
Under the new directives, all government-controlled temples in the state have been ordered to immediately review and strengthen security arrangements for cash, jewelry, and other valuables offered by devotees.
Rakesh Kanwar, Secretary of the Language, Art, and Culture Department, issued the orders, stating that the incident at a prominent national temple highlighted an urgent need to improve internal controls and security systems.
District Magistrates have been tasked with ensuring that similar controls are implemented even in temples that are not directly under the control of the district administration or temple trusts. Furthermore, managements of temples that do not fall under notified committees will be encouraged to adopt these safety measures to maintain the trust of devotees.
As per the new guidelines, all donation boxes must be tamper-proof and securely anchored. Each donation box will carry a unique identification number, and a dual-lock or multi-key system will be implemented for handling the keys. The boxes will only be opened on scheduled dates approved by a competent authority, strictly in the presence of a specifically notified committee. The entire process must be videographed under mandatory CCTV coverage.
To fortify security, high-resolution CCTV cameras equipped with night vision and audio recording capabilities will be installed. These cameras will cover all sensitive areas, including the sanctum sanctorum (garbhagriha), donation boxes, counting rooms, and strong rooms. The recorded footage must be securely stored for at least 180 days.
The government has banned the storage of large amounts of cash on temple premises. All cash collected must be deposited into designated bank accounts within one working day of counting. Keeping large sums of cash inside the temple complex will require prior written permission under special circumstances.
Temples have also been instructed to limit their number of bank accounts and negotiate with banks for better interest rates. Separate physical and digital registers must be maintained for gold, silver, foreign currency, and other valuables, with mandatory quarterly and annual physical verifications.
Valuables and jewelry will undergo physical verification every quarter, while a government-nominated committee will conduct an annual audit.
Staff handling cash and valuables will face periodic rotation and mandatory police verification. Furthermore, strong rooms must feature double locks, requiring the joint presence of at least two authorized officials to open them.
Any instance of theft or irregularity must be reported immediately to the local police, District Commissioner, and the Secretary of the department. The Director of the Language and Culture Department has been appointed as the state-level nodal officer to monitor compliance, and strict legal action will be taken against any officials found guilty of negligence.
