Karnataka Budget: CM proposes doing away with govt control over temples

In his maiden budget for 2022-23 presented on Friday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai proposed for doing away with government control on temples in the state by giving autonomy to those coming under the purview of Endowment department.

He had first indicated about bringing in a law aimed at 'freeing' Hindu temples from state control, while addressing the BJP state executive meeting in December last year.

"There is a long pending demand to do away with the government control on the temples. By considering these demands of devotees, autonomy will be given to temples coming under the purview of the Endowment department. Necessary legal action will be taken to delegate the discretion of developmental works to the temples," Bommai said in his budget speech.

A total of 34,563 temples in the state come under Muzrai (Endowment) department, and they have been categorised as grade A, B and C, based on their revenue generation.

A total of 207 temples with annual revenue above Rs 25