In good news for temple priests, the Andhra Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, has kept its promise that featured prominently in their manifesto. The state government announced a steep hike in the salaries of priests, increasing the minimum monthly remuneration to ₹15,000. In addition, the incense, lamp, and offering (‘Dhupa Deepa Naivedyam’) rituals daily have been increased to ₹ 10,000 from ₹ 5,000. The government is also working on providing a minimum salary of ₹ 25,000 to ‘Nayi Brahmins’ in temple ‘Kalyanakattas’ (hair donation centers).
Further, the government was contemplating to add two more members to the temple trust boards in order to get the temples administered properly. With a view to protect the temple assets, the government proposes committees to safeguard these properties. The government was also laying emphasis on spiritual tourism in the state and decided to constitute a committee comprising ministers from the endowments, forest and tourism departments to promote.
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Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also ordered that spirituality in the temples should flourish and nothing objectionable should happen in the shrine areas. He made it clear that no forced religious conversions and proselytizing by non-Hindus would be allowed near temples, as they hurt the sentiments of devotees and amount to a contravention of ‘Agama Shastra'(temple regulations). The Chief Minister called for measures to ensure cleanliness, quality of offerings, and tranquility in the atmosphere of the temples.
The announcement of a salary hike has been welcomed with cheer from priests across the state, who are now applauding the government for its move to fulfill the promise. Members of the temple community have also welcomed this move because, as such, it is considered one step in the right direction in the betterment of livelihood and the maintenance of proper sanctity of temples in Andhra Pradesh.
