Temple records should be digitised

There is a need for timely reforms in the way temple properties are recorded and preserved. At present, valuable items received in temples, including gold, are entered in registers and then moved to the strongroom. By checking the register, one can see what should be inside the strongroom, but to confirm whether the items are actually there, a detailed inspection is needed. Though the rules say that the items kept in the strongroom must be audited at regular intervals, this is not followed in most temples.

Usually, detailed checking with the register happens only when gold or other valuables go missing or are suspected of having been stolen from the temple. In the modern era, all valuables offered to temples can be recorded digitally and stored in computers. This would make auditing easier and more accurate. A special report by our correspondent T.S. Sanalkumar, published yesterday in Kerala Kaumudi, stated that following the gold-plated panel controversy, the Devaswom Board is preparing to digitise and preserve records of all valuable items received at the Sabarimala temple.

Currently, gold, silver ornaments, puja vessels, and other valuable items offered at Sabarimala are weighed, valued, listed in the register, and then stored in the Devaswom strongroom. Though auditing is required at fixed intervals, the Devaswom Board has not carried out an audit for more than 30 years. Because of this, no one can confirm whether all the offerings listed in the registers are still present in the strongroom. For example, the loss of gold pedestals came to light only six years later, when the High Court ordered an investigation.

With court intervention, the Devaswom Board is now considering auditing the existing valuables and creating digital records, including photographs, of all future offerings. This decision should not be delayed further. Also, without following proper procedures, temple properties should not be moved anywhere for any reason. These reforms should apply not just to Sabarimala but to all temples under the Devaswom Board. If CCTV cameras are not installed in strongrooms, they must be set up in all temples. Offerings given by devotees are meant for the deity alone and should never fall into human hands. The Board must adopt all modern safety measures, including digital records, to ensure full protection of these sacred properties.