Sharp differences between the Travancore Devaswom Board and the government over Sabarimala; demand intensifies for the Centre to take over Sabarimala

September 26, 2026 admin

Introductory Memo: The article highlights growing tensions between the Kerala government and the Travancore Devaswom Board over administrative shortcomings and delayed preparations at Sabarimala ahead of the Mandala season, including shortages of aravana and appam, procurement delays and the slow progress of the gold-theft investigation. While the Board denies any serious conflict and attributes the shortages to unexpectedly high pilgrim numbers, the government is exploring ways to improve coordination and has considered a Sabarimala Development Authority. Meanwhile, the BJP and Sangh Parivar are renewing demands for central-government control of Sabarimala, arguing that it could bring greater funding and infrastructure development, while the Board warns that separating Sabarimala from its administration could affect the finances of hundreds of other temples.

Analytical view/ Analysis: Sabarimala is the iconic temple of Hindu unity where caste or religion is not an issue. And it became a looting centre of politicians and officials.Year after year the numbers of devotees are increasing. The latest nes is on missing of 56 sovereign golden crown .It is stolen and replaced by fake gold crown.

An open confrontation has emerged between the state government and the Devaswom Board over shortcomings in the administrative systems at the Sabarimala temple. The President of the Devaswom Board appointed during the previous Left Democratic Front government is retired IAS officer and former Chief Secretary K Jayakumar. K Muraleedharan is the minister in charge of the Devaswom department.Mean time C.M. V.D.Satheesan intervened in the issue and had a discussion with the D.B.President on Wednesday.He clarified that there is no intention to dissolve the Board and issues will be sorted out.

The latest confrontation began when devotees who arrived for the Kanni month pooja could not be provided the required quantity of prasadam, appam and aravana. Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan made a public statement against the inadequate distribution of appam and aravana. He alleged that there had been a serious lapse on the part of the Devaswom Board. The government is not interfering in the Board’s day-to-day functioning or powers. Nor does it intend to dissolve it. But the minister said that he could not sit with his hands tied after seeing the lapses at Sabarimala.

Even with only 52 days left for the Mandala pooja season, when crores of pilgrims will arrive, the Devaswom Board has so far been unable to complete the preparations for the pilgrimage. The tender procedures for purchasing jaggery, rice, dry ginger powder, cumin and other materials needed to make appam and aravana normally begin in May itself. This time, they began only on August 6th only. Fifty lakh kilograms of jaggery are required for aravana. This time, the contractors demanded Rs 7.51 more per kilogram of jaggery than last year, which is why the contract has not been finalized. The contract can be finalized only after negotiating a reduction in the price and confirming through a vigilance inquiry whether the company has the capacity to supply such a quantity of materials. The auctioning of coconut collection, hotels, shops and other facilities at Sabarimala has also not been completed. These lapses angered the state government. The UDF had been considering bringing a Sabarimala Development Authority above the Devaswom Board. Following criticism that this would disrupt the functioning of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the proposal was set aside for a political decision. The state government is considering seeking legal advice and the High Court’s opinion on how it can intervene to ensure that matters at Sabarimala can be handled without obstacles. The government is considering legally permissible ways to facilitate coordination between the Board and the government so that there are no inconveniences during the pilgrimage season.

However, Devaswom Board president K Jayakumar clarified that there are no serious problems between the government and the Board. He said the problem with aravana arose because more devotees than expected arrived for the Kanni month pooja. Normally, two and a half lakh tins of aravana are prepared during the monthly pooja. This time, three and a quarter lakh tins of aravana had been prepared for the Kanni month. It was only when more devotees arrived during the two days before the temple closed that the distribution of aravana had to be restricted. A temple that normally earns Rs 5 crore during the monthly pooja earned more than Rs 7.5 crore this time. He said this itself makes it clear that more devotees than expected had arrived. He also said that the plant had been closed earlier to complete maintenance work and increase the capacity of the aravana plant by another one lakh tins before the pilgrimage season.

Meanwhile, despite strong intervention by the High Court in the Sabarimala gold theft case, the Special Investigation Team will not be able to submit the charge sheet within the stipulated time. When the case was considered on September 3, the Devaswom Bench comprising Justice V Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice K V Jayakumar had directed that the charge sheet be submitted by the 25th. Investigation officer SP S Sasidharan had appeared in person before the Devaswom Bench and explained the progress of the investigation. He had informed the court that the investigation was almost complete. The stripping salt and cleaning salt used to remove gold from the panels had been sent to the National Metallurgical Laboratory in Jamshedpur for examination. The investigation team had expected to receive the report before the 20th. SP informed the High Court that once it was received, the final report could be submitted by the 25th.

In the case involving the Dwarapalaka sculptures, the 2025 gold plating is being investigated along with the 2019 gold theft, and the investigation team said that some further steps needed to be taken. It had been informed that the investigation in this case too would be completed without delay. The investigation team is of the conclusion that the panels covering the Dwarapalaka idols at Sabarimala were removed and brought back after being newly gold-plated. Laboratory examination has now revealed that the copper panels currently covering the Dwarapalaka idols are only seven years old. What happened to the old copper panels is yet to be found out. There are 20 accused in the case. Of these, 18 are connected with the Devaswom Board. Only Unnikrishnan Potti, the first accused, and Kalpesh, the second accused in the door-panel case, have no connection with the Devaswom Board. Former Devaswom Board presidents N Vasu, A Padmakumar and P S Prashanth are out on bail. Former members K P Shankaradas, N Vijayakumar and A Ajikumar are also out on bail. Permission from the state government is required to submit the charge sheet. The Special Investigation Team has not yet approached the government for permission. The Special Investigation Team was formed on October 10 last year. Even after 11 months, it has not been possible to prepare even the preliminary charge sheet. The Devaswom minister has expressed strong dissatisfaction over the delay in filing the charge sheet. The minister had earlier argued that the state government could not intervene because the investigation was being conducted under the direct supervision of the High Court. In the present circumstances, the state government has sought legal advice from the Advocate General on what can be done.

The UDF is considering the formation of a Sabarimala Development Authority with the Chief Minister as chairman and the Devaswom Minister as vice-chairman. If the authority is formed, the state government will have to take on an additional financial burden for Sabarimala’s development activities. Moreover, the responsibility for developing infrastructure and addressing the needs of devotees at Sannidhanam, Pampa, Nilakkal, Erumeli and other places connected with the Sabarimala pilgrimage will also fall on the state government and the authority. The revenue from Sabarimala is what enables the vast majority of the 1250 temples under the Devaswom Board to function. Only around 50 temples have the capacity to operate independently on their own revenue. Those including president K Jayakumar say that if an authority is formed exclusively for Sabarimala, the revenue from Sabarimala can be spent only there. That would disrupt the functioning of the Devaswom Board.

The demand that Sabarimala, which is internationally prominent, be taken over by the central government on the model of the Vaishno Devi temple has been raised by the BJP and Sangh Parivar organizations. BJP leader Anoop Antony has raised the issue again. He also said that Rajeev Chandrasekhar state president would meet the Prime Minister for this purpose. Hindu organizations and the BJP argue that this would help identify forest land required for Sabarimala’s development, undertake more development activities and secure financial assistance at the national level itself. But the state government and the opposition Left Front may raise the issue that this would completely eliminate the control of the Devaswom Board and the state government. There is also an allegation that the Rs 100 crore earlier sanctioned by the central government was not spent and utilized as per the project.The failure to complete preparations related to the pilgrimage season is also causing concern among devotees.

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