All eyes are on the assets of Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple , says amicus curiae

The report submitted by amicus curiae Gopal Subramanyam appointed by the Supreme Court said all eyes are on the assets of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The report judging the present situation of the temple has been handed over to the court. All vaults of the temple should be strengthened and security should be tightened. ‘A’ vault should be strengthened with immediate effect and Rs 81 lakhs has been earmarked for it by the amicus curiae. Two-thirds of the expenses should be borne by the government and the remaining by the temple authorities.

The report said the purity of the temple is not being maintained. A member of the royal family should be in charge of the day to day affairs of the temple. The condition of the temple kitchen and the Padmatheerthakkulam is deplorable. Steps should be taken to clean the two. The report said the panel to execute the functioning of the temple is not up to the mark. The Supreme Court expressed dissatisfaction following the report of the amicus curiae. The case will be considered again on December 12.

The apex court-appointed expert committee, meanwhile, said that the whole process of unearthing the assets and its valuation would be completed by June 1 next year. The temple has six vaults, most of which are underground and are filled with priceless articles. During preparation of its inventory recently by the apex court-appointed panel, five of these vaults were opened, leaving out one chamber, called 'vault B'.

The apex court had appointed expert committee for scientifically documenting the priceless temple's treasure. The panel comprises experts from ISRO, the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the Centre for Earth Sciences Studies and top officials of the Kerala police. The sprawling temple, an architectural splendour in granite, was rebuilt in its present form in the 18th century by the Travancore Royal House, which ruled southern Kerala and some adjoining parts of Tamil Nadu before integration of the princely state with Indian Union in 1947. Even after independence, the temple continued to be governed by a trust controlled by the erstwhile royal family, to whom Lord Padmanabha (Vishnu in reclining posture) is their family deity.