It has been alleged that even though the temple deposit was Rs 20 lakh, it was not spent even to pay the basic salary. Varadaraja Perumal Pupiyara temple is located in Venkampur next to Kodumudi in Erode district.
Under the management of the temple, which is under the control of the Hindu Religious Endowment Department, are Angala Amman temple, Akkaraipattian temple, Iswaran temple and Oonjalur Mariamman Temple. A total of 27 people are working in this temple as executive officer, officers and priests.
The Varadaraja Perumal Temples own 152 acres of agricultural land. Of this, 120 acres are irrigated by the Kalingarayan channel and the rest is grazing land. Also, there is a marriage hall under the management of the temple. The temple lands are auctioned annually and the lease proceeds are the source of revenue for the temple.
Also, a deposit fund of Rs.20 lakh has been kept in this temple account. It has been alleged that the 27 employees working in Varadaraja Perumal temples, which have received such privileges, have not been paid their salaries for the last 6 months.
Regarding this, the temple staff said: 27 people including 16 priests are working in Venkampur Varada Rajaperumal Varuyahara Temples. All the permanent employees and temporary employees have not been paid since last December.
Only one month's salary was paid with the amount earned from leasing out a plot of land 20 days ago. Salary not yet paid for 6 months. The expenses for the daily pujas in the temples and the amount for neivediyam are not provided. Although the priests are not paid, with the help of patrons, regular pujas are conducted for the Swami.
As salary has not been paid for 6 months, we are struggling to meet our daily expenses. Due to lack of salary, some people take leave and go to daily wage work to support their families. It is our pain that we have not been paid our salary even though we have Rs 20 lakh as deposit fund with the temple administration. They said this.
When asked about this from the Executive Officer of the temple, Uma Selvi, she said that the temple lands are leased out and we are carrying out the expenses including salaries with the revenue generated from it. Due to delay in leasing of temple lands this year, payment of salaries has been delayed.
However, temple poojas continue to be provided in kind. Arrangements are being made to lease the temple lands. After the auction, the officers will be paid. An alternative arrangement is also being made to pay the salary before that. He said this.
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