Dismiss the scamster Government Committee of Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Temple; otherwise, we will take to the streets and protest ! – Warkari and Hindu organisations’ warning
In Pandharpur’s Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Temple, a place of worship for crores of Vitthal devotees, precious jewels, gold ornaments, prasad ladoos, toilets were misappropriated; not only this, while many big temples in the country are profitable, due to the financial indiscipline of the temple committee, the temple has suffered a loss of Rs 6,05,82,000 in the financial year 2021-22. Due to the lack of proper financial management, the temple had to pay Goods and Services Tax (GST) of Rs 3,77,21,565. Funds worth Rs 69,14,913 in the form of TDS could not be recovered by the temple committee from the banks. Also, is it not a scam to squander lakhs of rupees by awarding a contract to B.V.G company without inviting tenders, getting only Rs 5,26,000 per annum when the temple has more than 1,250 acres of land ? The entire Warkari community and ‘Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh’ have demanded that Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Temple Committee, which has committed such unforgivable malpractices, to be dissolved immediately and cases should be registered against the culprits involved in these malpractices. The Government was also warned that if this is not done, we will take to the streets and protest strongly.
In this press conference held at Pandharpur, Mr Sunil Ghanwat, the State Coordinator of ‘Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh’, National Spokesperson of Warkari Sampraday from Pike Sangh Ha.Bha.P. Ramkrishna Veer Maharaj, President of Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Temple Protection Committee, Mr Ganesh Lanka, Ha.Bha.P. Nagesh Bagde Maharaj and Mr Rajan Bunage of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti were present.
Crores of rupees loss to the Vitthal Rukmini temple due to negligence of the 'Sarkari Mandir Samiti'!
Dismiss the scammer government committee, Otherwise we will come on the streets!-Warning of Warkaris, Hindutva organisations & #Maharashtra_Mandir_Mahasangh@CMOMaharashtra pic.twitter.com/33YOKKJqxC
— Sunil Ghanwat🛕🛕 (@SG_HJS) January 6, 2024
If the jewellery was not lost, why was it not given to the auditors for inspection ?
At the press conference Mr Ghanwat said that the temple committee has accepted all the scams in a way by not providing the count and valuation records of more than 314 ancient precious jewels kept in the Shri Vitthal-Rukmini temple. Why did the temple committee, which said the ornaments were not missing, not make them available to the auditors for inspection ? What is the scam here ? The temple committee did not disclose anything about the many serious allegations of poor quality prasad, advance amount, poor condition of the cowshed, loss of Rs 22 lakhs in constructing toilets, etc. which shows the dark side of the committee. In fact, even after 38 years of the temple’s Governmentalisation, if the ancient valuables have not been appraised and registered, the ancient jewels can be exchanged, as in the Shri TuljaBhavani Devi temple, Tuljapur. Fake documents and artifacts could be created. Therefore, we have lodged a complaint with Pandharpur Police Station and Solapur Collector to file a case against this unforgivable crime.
In 2013, we held a press conference and raised many issues of Shri Vitthal-Rukmini temple scam. Today even after 10 years most of the scams are coming back to the temple, it is very serious. Pune’s ‘B. S. G. & Associates’, a chartered auditor, had audited the temple and submitted its report on 23rd March 2023. In this, 27 types of very serious malpractices of the temple committee have come to light.
Temple in loss : In the budget of the year 2021-22, the temple committee has shown a collection of Rs 6,24,71,000, while the expenditure is Rs 12,30,53,000. That means there is a loss of Rs 6,05,82,000. How can Shri Vitthal-Rukmini temple in Maharashtra, which receives crores of devotees and massive offerings, be at a loss ? Today, while the big temples across the country are making a profit, why did Shri Vitthal-Rukmini temple lose money ?
Land Scam : It has been shown that the temple committee has accumulated only Rs 5,26,000 per year while holding more than 1,250 acres of land in the name of the temple. In this, the auditors ‘stated in the report that this volume has been shown incorrectly.’ How is it that such a small fund was collected when there is actually such a huge land ? Not ‘Dal mein kuch kaala hai!’but we can say ‘poori dal hi kali hai’.
Rs 3,77,00,000 wasted : Input Tax Credit Tax (I.C.T. Credit) is payable on business purchases; but once the material is sold, it can be deducted from GST; but due to non-utilisation of GST deduction provision from 2017-18 to 2022-23 about Rs 3,77,21,565 worth of I.C.T. credit is available on the portal. But the temple committee without taking written opinion from the experts, paid the GST of Rs 3,77,21,565 to the Government. That fund could have been written off. All-in-all, there has been lot of ignorance, mismanagement and malpractices by the administration. With this view it can be estimated how much monetary loss would have been incurred in other cases.
When will 69 lakhs be recovered from the temple ? : After paying the Income Tax, the Temple Committee requested the banks to credit the T.D.S. Despite being asked multiple times, the banks have not returned Rs 69,14,913 accumulated from the year 2004-05 to 2018-19. Why is the temple committee silent about this for so many years ? If it was banks’ money, would they have sat silently for so many years ? If this amount had been kept as a fixed deposit, the temple would have received an interest of lakhs of rupees.
Without inviting tenders, contract awarded to ‘B.V.G.’ company; Waste of millions of rupees ! : Provision of manpower for constructing three devotee residences (Bhakta niwas), as well as for cleaning them, the temple committee without inviting any tenders awarded the contract to ‘B.V.G.’ company. The temple committee also pays Rs 18,52,000 every year to ‘B.V.G.’ company for the machines used for cleaning. There came a time when the auditors had to advise the temple committee to buy the said machines instead of paying such a huge sum every year. For whose favours in this company lakhs of rupees are being squandered ?
Complete mismanagement : There is no security guard outside the room where the cash is kept. No check-in register is kept in the room where the cash is kept. The auditor recommended to stop and frisk everyone coming from outside. In short, no one will know how much total amount came and how much went into whose pocket. A question arises if the temple committee properly taken care of this? At the same time, wrong balance sheets are being submitted in banks. In those balance sheets, the expenditure is counted twice, and so is the donation. This amounts to is Rs 14,20,495. A brass idol worth Rs 25,000 of Shri Vitthal-Rukmini was kept in the stock without being recorded in the Accounts Officer’s office. What is more, since no registers are kept in food centers, electrical rooms, establishment sections, Goshalas and other sections, records of inflows and outflows as well as materials are not maintained. Therefore, it is not possible to say how many items were mis-placed or mismanaged. 29,615 books are still missing from the library.
The situation of the temple has worsened due to the above mismanagement of the administration. All these cases must be investigated thoroughly by the Government and strict action should be taken against the culprits. Demands were made at this press conference to dismiss this corrupt temple committee immediately, free the Shri Vitthal- Rukmini temple from Government control and hand it over to honest devotees.
