B SATYANARAYANA Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF ENDOWMENTS WARANGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts of this case disclose the manner in which, the temples in the State of Andhra Pradesh, are subjected to mal-administration and their limited resources are squeezed by the interested persons, particularly, the so-called secular employees. A stage has come when the survival of the temples, is made to depend upon the mercy of such employees.

(2.) Sri Venkateswara Swami Temple, Karimnagar Town, had the cadre strength of one Junior Assistant, one night Watchman and one Attender. The Commissioner of Endowments Department, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, is the competent authority to fix and revise the cadre strength of different categories of posts in the temples, depending upon their income and necessity.

(3.) Though there exists only one post of Junior Assistant, the petitioners herein, who are the employees of other temples in the District, got themselves transferred to Sri Venkateshwara Swami Temple, Karimnagar, about ten years back. All the three Junior Assistants were functioning and the limited resources of the temple were siphoned of, in the form of salaries to them. To add a semblance of legality to this, the proceedings, dated 06-04-2002, were issued by the then Deputy Commissioner of Endowments, first respondent herein, sanctioning two more posts of Junior Assistants. The illegality was so brazen, that a clause was incorporated in the order to the effect that the persons/employees working over and above the cadre strength, must be adjusted against the sanctioned posts.