T. P. Sundarrajan, whose legal battle led to the opening of the long-shut vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram where priceless treasures have been found, died in the wee hours on Sunday.
A bachelor, Sundarrajan was 70. He had been suffering from fever for the last two days, relatives said.
A former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, Sundarrajan had also served in the Intelligence Bureau and security staff of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He later quit IPS and settled down in Thiruvananthapuram.
It was Sundrrajan who initiated the legal battle for transparency in preservation and protection of the assets of the temple, managed by a trust under the erstwhile Travancore royal house.
The case took a decisive turn when the Kerala High Court in February ordered the State to take over the temple.
Later, the Supreme Court, while considering an appeal by the trustees, ordered an interim stay of the High Court decision but asked the temple cellars to be opened and the priceless wealth stored there, whose value was believed to be over Rs. one lakh crore, to be inventoried.
Following this, a seven-member panel of observers including two former Judges of the Kerala High Court was formed to go about the job of opening the secret chambers.
Sundarrajan, whose father was a legal advisor to Travancore royal family, had been staying in a house close to the temple complex for the last few decades.
The Supreme Court had on Friday reserved its interim orders on the question of permitting inventory of one more vault of the temple which is yet to be opened
Setting up of Kerala Administrative Tribunal under sub-section (2)
of section 4 of the Administrative Tribpnals Act, I985.
MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PUBLIC GRIEVANCES
AND PENSIONS
(Department of Personneland Training)
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 25th August, 2010
G.S.R. 705(E).-In exercise ofthe powers conferred
by sub-section (2) of Section 4 of the Administrative
Tribunals Act, 1985 (13 of 1985). the Central Government,
on receipt of a request in this behalf from the Government
of Kerala, hereby establishes the Kerala Administrative
Tribunal with effect from the 26th day of August, 2010
which shall be the 'appointed day' within the meaning of
clause (c) of Section 3 of the Act.
[F. No. A-11014/9/2009-AT]
RAEEV KAPOOR, It. Secy PLEASE DOWNLOAD GSR No:705(E)FROM THE SIDE LINK
Finance minister announces insurance for all students, pension for small farmers aged 60+
Kerala's revised budget for 2011-12 presented today by finance minister K M Mani has proposed to collect an additional revenue of Rs 625 crore. Additional expenditure through the new proposals are estimated at Rs 950 crore.
The budget also proposes an additional 6 per cent cess and 10 per cent surcharge on Indian-made foreign liquor, amounting to an additional revenue receipt of Rs 192 crore. An additional cess of 2 per cent on luxury cars priced above Rs 20 lakh will be levied and houses with a basement area above 4,000 sft will also attract additional 2 per cent tax. The budget also proposed an additional revenue receipt of Rs 15 crore through the changes in the compounding on tax on gold.
The minister also mooted the 'Emerging Kerala' summit in order to attract overseas investment into the state in line with the global investors' meet orgainsed in January 2001.
The government also decided to enhance the periodicity of the state lottery draw to daily from the current weekly in order to raise funds for the treatment of poor patients suffering from cancer, kidney and cardiac patients and for palliative care.
The revised revenue receipts of the state will be Rs 39,428 crore and the revenue expenditure will be Rs 44,961 crore as per the latest estimates. Total debt of the state increased to Rs 88,857 crore which is around 250 per cent of the total revenue.
In 2010-11, debt had increased 93 per cent, which the finance minister said was mainly due to the financial mismanagement of the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The distribution of rice at Rs 1 per kg will commence during the Onam festival season which will benefit 2 million BPL families of the state, for which Rs 200 crore has been earmarked.
The major thrust areas of the budget are infrastructure, agriculture, public health and industrial development. It has earmarked Rs 150 crore for the proposed Vizhijam international seaport and Rs 25 crore for the initial work of Kochi metro. The proposed Smart City project will get Rs 10 crore and the Kannur airport project Rs 30 crore.
The budget enhanced all the welfare pension schemes to Rs 400 per month from Rs 300 at present. For the first time in the history of the state, small farmers above 60 years of age and having land less than 1 hectare will get pension of Rs 300 per month.
Rajiv Arogyasree insurance scheme will be extended to 3.5 million BPL families through which free treatment benefit up to a maximum of Rs 2 lakh can be availed. All the students of the state will be insured and Rs 1 crore earmarked for the initial expense of this project.
The government also proposed to start four new medical colleges in Kasargode, Malappuram, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts. The budget extended a financial assistance to the tune of Rs 100 crore for the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.
The government would also create 100,000 additional job opportunities with an investment of Rs 500 crore. An additional Rs 325 crore has been set aside for various works under the department of Public Works. The budget has announced that the new dam at Mullaperiyar will be completed within next four years.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
# Call centre and video-conferencing facility will be arranged for commercial establishments. Traders can lodge their complaints online directly with the finance minister.
# A separate university for Malayalam at Thirur in Malappuram district.
# Separate committee to enhance resource mobilisation with FM as chairman Rs 1 crore for the special protection initiatives of Sri Padmanabha Swamin temple at Thiruvananthapuram.
# Legal aid cell for NRKs.
# 75 Maveli stores under the civil supplies corporation will be enhanced to super markets.
# 13 essential items will be distributed through the ration shops.
# 5 new polytechnics
# Subsidy on cattle feeds has been doubled
# Zero waste programme at Shabarimala with an investment of Rs 5 crore
# Rs 1000 crore for road renovation
# White paper on the financial status of the state in this session of the Assembly
# Comprehensive crop Insurance scheme for all types of crops
# Rs 120 crore for the conduct of national games in Kerala
കെ എം മാണിയുടെ അസന്തുലിത ബജറ്റ്
തീരദേശമേഖലയെ അവഗണിച്ചു. പരമ്പരാഗത വ്യവസായങ്ങളെ തകര്ക്കുന്ന സമീപനമാണ് ബജറ്റിലുള്ളത്. അനാഥാലയങ്ങളെയും മാനസികവൈകല്യം സംഭവിച്ചവരെയും സഹായിക്കുന്നതിനുള്ള പദ്ധതികളും അട്ടിമറിച്ചു. നവജാതശിശുക്കള്ക്കുള്ള 10,000 രൂപയുടെ കരുതല് നിക്ഷേപ പദ്ധതി, അസംഘടിതമേഖലയിലെ സ...്ത്രീതൊഴിലാളികള്ക്ക് വേതനത്തോടെയുള്ള പ്രസവാവധി, ആശ, അങ്കണവാടി വര്ക്കര്മാര്ക്കുള്ള ഓണറേറിയം, തൊഴിലുറപ്പ് പദ്ധതിയ്ക്കുള്ള ഫണ്ട് എന്നിവയെക്കുറിച്ച് ബജറ്റ് മിണ്ടുന്നില്ല. നഗര തൊഴിലുപ്പ് പദ്ധതിയെക്കുറിച്ചും ഒന്നുമില്ല. റോഡ്, പാലം നിര്മാണത്തിന് 5,000 കോടി രൂപയുടെ പദ്ധതി എല്ഡിഎഫ് ബജറ്റില് പ്രഖ്യാപിച്ചിരുന്നു. ഇതിന് 1,000 കോടി രൂപ വകയിരുത്തി. ഈ തുകയുടെ ബലത്തില് 5,000 കോടി രൂപ വായ്പ എടുക്കാനാകും. വായ്പ തിരിച്ചടയ്ക്കാനുള്ള പദ്ധതികളും വിഭാവനം ചെയ്തിരുന്നു. ഇതുംമാണി അട്ടിമറിച്ചു. 35 ലക്ഷം കുടുംബങ്ങള്ക്ക് ഒരു രൂപയ്ക്ക് 25 കിലോ വീതം അരി നല്കണമെങ്കില് ചുരുങ്ങിയത് 500 കോടി രൂപ വേണം. കൂടാതെ, രണ്ടുരൂപ നിരക്കില് എപിഎല് കാര്ഡിനും അരി നല്കണം. എന്നാല് സിവില് സപ്ലൈസ് കോര്പറേഷന് ആകെ നീക്കിവച്ചത് 200 കോടി മാത്രമാണ്. പ്രധാന പല പദ്ധതികളും അവഗണിക്കപ്പെട്ടപ്പോള് കോട്ടയം, മലപ്പുറം ഒഴിച്ചുള്ള ജില്ലകളെല്ലാം പുറത്തായി. ബജറ്റ് അവതരണവേളയില് തന്നെ ഭരണകക്ഷി അംഗങ്ങള്ക്ക് ബഹളംവയ്ക്കേണ്ടി വന്നു. അവര് ഇറങ്ങിപ്പോയി. സ്വന്തം മുന്നണിയെപ്പോലും തൃപ്തിപ്പെടുത്താന് കഴിയാത്ത ബജറ്റാണിത്.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed videography and photography of the ongoing unearthing of treasure trove from the vaults of Sri Padmanabhaswami temple in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram district.
A bench of Justices R.V. Raveendran and A.K. Patnaik also proposed the appointment of a curator of a museum to preserve the treasure being unearthed from the ancient temple.
The apex court's directions came during the hearing of a petition by the heir of erstwhile king of Travancore Raja Rama Varma, challenging a Kerala High Court ruling of January 31 this year, ordering takeover of the assets and management of the shrine by the state.
The court also barred the observer, supervising the unearthing of the temple's treasure, from interacting with media on the process, saying the matter was related to the state. After brief proceedings, the court posted the matter for further hearing on Friday.
On May 2, on a petition filed by Rama Varma's elder brother Marthanda Varma, the apex court had passed an interim order staying the high court's order for takeover of the management and assets of the temple. The SC had directed that "there shall be a detailed inventory of the articles, valuables and ornaments found from the temple's treasure trove".
Key of vault missing
Meanwhile, uncertainty continued on Wednesday over the opening of the last of the six chambers of the temple. The secret vaults of the temple have already yielded ancient treasure worth over Rs 1 lakh crore.
According to sources, the key to vault B, which is believed to contain even bigger treasure, has been missing. The temple authorities have sought help of some traditional locksmiths to get the duplicate keys made. But that also seemed a difficult task as the vault was too ancient.
The royal family of Travancore, the traditional custodians of the temple, has been worried over the use of powerful machines to break open the vault of the temple. It feels that the hammering of the ancient vault could even shake the temple's foundation. The royal family however said that it would cooperate with the Supreme Court's directive to open the vault.
Tata Motors is ready to introduce Air Car - Will it be the next
big thing?Tata Motors is taking giant strides and making history for
itself. First the Land Rover/Jaguar deal, then the world's cheapest car, and
now it is also set to introduce the car that runs on compressed air.
With spiraling fuel prices it is about time we heard some breakthrough!
India's largest automaker, Tata Motors, is set to start
producing the world's first commercial air-powered vehicle.
The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy N'gre
for Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air, as opposed to the gas-and-oxygen
explosions of internal-combustion models, to push its engine's pistons. Some 6000
zero-emissions Air Cars are scheduled to hit Indian streets by August 2011.
The Air Car, called the "MiniCAT" could cost around Rs.. 3,47,523/- ($8,177.00) in India and would
have a range of around 300 km between refuels.
The cost of a refillwould be about Rs. 85($2..00)
The MiniCAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis that is glued,
not welded, and a body of fiberglass powered by compressed
air. Microcontrollers are used in every device in the car, so one tiny radio
transmitter sends instructions to the lights,indicators,etc.
There are no keys -
just an access card which can be read by
the car from your pocket. According
to the designers, it costs less than 50
rupees per 100 Km (about a tenth that of a
petrol car). Its mileage is about
double that of the most advanced electric
car (200 to 300 km or 10 hours of
driving), a factor which makes a perfect
choice in cities where 80% of motorists drive at
less than 60 Km. The car has a top
speed of 105 Kmph.
Refilling the car will, once the market develops, take place
at adapted petrol stations to administer compressed air. In two or three minutes,
and at a cost of approximately 100 rupees, the car will be ready to go another
200-300 kilometers.
As a viable alternative, the car carries a small compressor
which can be connected to the mains (220V or 380V) and
refill the tank in 3-4 hours. Due to the absence of combustion and,
consequently, of residues, changing the oil (1 litre of vegetable oil) is
necessary only every 50,000 Km).
The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is
between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal
air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss ofpower.
Minister of Corporate Affairs Murli Deora has offered to resign ahead of talk of a possible Cabinet reshuffle.
In a statement Deora said, "Due to personal reasons, I have offered to step down as minister from the Union Cabinet and offer my services for the Congress Party , where my political career began. I thank the Congress President and Prime Minister for their continuous support and guidance."
Deora, 74, said he has submitted his resignation and sought to dismiss reports that he has asked for his son Milind Deora's inclusion in the council of ministers.
"Yes, I have offered to Congress President Sonia Gandhi to step down from the Union Council of Ministers... Have not asked for anything more... It is not a sudden decision," Deora told PTI.
Deora, however, clarified that he hasn't resigned yet and had offered to relinquish charge of the Corporate Affairs Ministry "orally" to Gandhi a few weeks back.
It wasn't known what Gandhi's reaction was. "I have the satisfaction of completing a full five-year stint as Union Minister and so now I thought it will be appropriate to step down," he said without elaborating.
A senior office-bearer of the Congress said Deora handed his resignation to party president Sonia Gandhi last week and is learnt to have pushed for son Milind Deora’s inclusion as minister of state in the council of ministers. Milind is a second-time MP from South Mumbai.
When contacted, Deora declined comment on his resignation. All that he said was that he had “already done a five-year stint as Cabinet minister” and that he was getting on in age.
The Congress office-bearer, who did not wish to be named, said Deora was also piqued over the manner in which his successor S Jaipal Reddy handled the media on the draft report of the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), which pointed out several violations in the execution of exploration contracts by the petroleum ministry between 2006 and 2008.
There is talk of a Cabinet reshuffle after President Pratibha Patil's return from her sojourn in Hyderabad on July 8.
Heavy security was in place at the Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple here as a seven-member Supreme Court-appointed team Friday went about opening and taking an inventory of its six chambers.
Armed guards and cameras were placed around the temples as media reports said that treasure worth thousands of crores have been found in the chambers, two of which have not been opened for nearly 150 years.
The stock-taking process was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by advocate T.P. Sundararajan over mismanagement of the temple affairs.
The chambers in the temple reportedly contain rare and precious gems and jewellery.
Sundararajan expressed his displeasure over the manner in which the stock-taking process was being done as rumours and reports talked about millions in treasure.
"I will report this matter to the Supreme Court," Sundararajan told reporters.
To a question on numerous media reports putting the value of treasure at Rs.50,000 crore, Sundarajan said: "Only 30 percent of chamber A has been accounted for and hence the value could be much more than what has been reported in the media."
The temple has six chambers from A to F. Chambers C, D, and F have been opened and B and E are yet to be done.
Chambers A and B have not been opened for nearly 150 years while remaining four were opened by the temple authorities from time-to-time.
Around 90,000 crore worth treasure (Nidhi) has been found in the secret cellars of the famous Kerala Temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu - Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram). The 7 member paper appointed by the Supreme Court of India, has been preparing the list of valuable found in the cellars of Sri Padmanabhaswami Temple. The temple has 6 Secret Cellars (Nilavara – a place to keep assets safe) from Cellar A to Cellar F. Opening of each of these chambers is revealing a virtual treasure trove with precious diamonds, golden ornaments, emeralds, jewelleries, rare antique silver and brass platters and golden idols. An estimation of above 90,000 crore treasure was valued at the completion of the 6th day of valuing the assets of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Golden idol of Mahavishnu worth Rs. 500 Crore
The main treasure found on the 6th day was a one foot (12 angulams) height golden idol of Lord Mahavishnu and a 30 kg golden ‘anki’. This golden idol of Lord Vishnu is believed to be the replica of the ‘utsava vigraham' used in the temple. The golden idol of Padmanabhaswamy studded with more than 1000 previous stones is valued to around Rs. 500 Crore. Another golden idol of Lord Sree Krishna was also found which weighs around 5 kg.
Golden Coins, Ornaments, and Human figurine
Several golden coins were also unearthed yesterday which are believed to be issued during the reign of Krishnadeva Rayar in the 16th century AD. Numerous golden ornaments which were used to adorn the main deity were also found in the Vault marked A. Ornaments studded with emeralds were also found on Saturday. Numerous golden human figurine weighing 1 kg, golden bangles, golden rope, are other interesting treasure found in the Vishnu Temple.
Golden Coconut Shells
Another interesting finding was two coconut shells made of pure gold. One of this golden coconut shell was students with rare antique stones including emeralds and rubies.
Cellar B To Open on Monday
Cellar B is the remaining one secret vault which is yet to be inventoried. It is said that this cellar haven’t been opened for more than 100 years. The remaining articles in Cellar A will be inventoried on Monday afternoon and Cellar B will be opened only after that.
Since the chambers were closed for so long, Sundararajan said he was unable to remain inside for long because of the lack of oxygen.
The temple is maintained by the erstwhile royal family of Travancore.
Retired judge M.N. Krishnan, who heads the seven-member team, had indicated Monday that the stock taking could end Friday but it is now certain that it could go on for a few more days.
The team will present its findings to the Supreme Court.
The main temple deity, Padmanabhaswamy, is a form of Vishnu in Anananthasayanam posture or in eternal sleep of 'yognidra'.
The great hunt is on and each day crores of value worth antiques are unraveled from the hidden chests and dark chambers of the great Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple. Its really mesmerizing to read all about the treasure and its hidden coffers in such an ancient monument and engineering marvel.
South Indian temples really fascinate me, its grandiose structure and innate work and fine grained artistry really entices me. These temple just shows the passion of people who conceived this structures and passion of people who worked for them to make it as they are – a resilient structures which can withstand 1000 years of time and tide.
Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple is relatively a young temple compared to great Chola or Pallava monuments in Tamil Nadu. The great temples in Tanjore, Chidambaram, Gangai Konda Cholavaram, Kumbakonam really bowl me over when I stand before them like a kid wide eyes and mouth wide open.
Its really no surprise that so much of treasure is hidden beneath the stone structure of Padmanabha Swamy temple. In fact each and every ancient temple in South India surely would have had such secret treasure troves, but alas now everything is lost because either being looted by British or invading Muslim Kings and if they have survived those stooges our own people might have siphoned off them. The crux is we Indians don’t take pride in such structures nor do we care about these marvels. Many people loathe going to temple for various reason – being an atheist or aversion to crowd or laziness to travel and many other silly reasons. No wonder in Chidambaram you see lot foreigners with cameras than Indians with camera. They are fascinated by them than us.
Coming to this unraveling story of treasures in Padmanabha Swamy Temple – what will happen to them? Now that secret is out in the open vested interests in different quarters may be frothing in their mouth to take control of temple or to seize a nickel out of it and keep it in their showcase or worse siphon it off for money. Remember the price being derived is just based on current market rates, if you add the antique value of these pieces it may run into more crores in value. But it would also be insane to argue that these whole thing is proprietary of one family now. These treasures are not earned by them, they might have been got as gifts to the state, as tax and wealth of the state. So today a family cannot come and claim them because of a lineage. Its like our Prime Minister claiming rights on India’s economy. I feel it belongs to the people of Kerala and its upto the people be proud about it, be passionate about it and care about it and preserve it for generations.
Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple is one of those finest temples out there where a visit can really calm your soul and soothe you. Its ranks high in the way its maintained and run. A big kudos to the Royal family and the trust which does it – after all they never got tempted to loot the treasures till now. Alas that today we have denigrated to such a passé that arbid ego clashes and petty interests have lead to this skull drudgery of a situation and we have no one to blame but ourselves [read Hindus] for such an impasse. From here if an ordinance is promulgated and secular Congress party decides to put a secular person [like Mr. George Joseph or Mr. Mohammed Haji] in the trust running the temple we just have to live with it.
Now the question is next what? What to do with the treasure – should we use it for eradicating poverty or negating some of our fiscal deficit or implement NREGA with that? Anything can happen in this country. I am sure some insane voices would opine that now that people know about the treasures they are not safe where they are and should be put in bank vaults. Nothing can be disastrous than that. We have smart people in this country who even though cannot be creative can easily be creative enough to make fakes and swap the real ones. Hope we won’t tread that path. I personally would like them to maintained where they are and status quo maintained on it. Or even if they can make some great fool-proof arrangement to exhibit them and open the chambers for public that would also be good (something like public viewing every year say, for 2 weeks and then they are back to the chambers). I personally would like to see them and more than the treasure I would be exciting in seeing the secret chamber and its security plugs.
Its not clear as to what will happen to the temple or the treasures – a handful of cronies and their ego will decide its fate. But thank god they can’t take the Lord away or take the shrine itself away. Those two are enough for mere mortals like me to be happy about. A walk in the alleys in this sacred temple is enough to transpire you to another realm, to mesmerize you about our rich history and culture and hope a day will not come where they won’t even allow to do that! Billions priceless treasures found from cellars of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple
