Himachal Temples to Melt Holy Gold

MANGALOREAN
April 11, 2011

INDIA - Like the Naina Devi and Chamunda Devi shrines, many Himachal Pradesh temples are flush with gold worth crores of rupees. And some of it could soon be yours for a price. The state government has come out with a provision that allows temple trusts to melt tonnes of gold and silver lying in their coffers and convert them into coins and mementoes for sale. An amendment to the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act of 1984 was made April 7 that allows conversion of 50 percent of the precious metal reserves in temples into mementoes. "A notification that permits temples to melt the gold will be issued by the government this week. It will help temples to part with loads of gold and silver which have been lying there for decades and check pilferage," Prem Sharma, in-charge of state-controlled temple trusts, told IANS. The proceeds from the gold coins and other mementoes would be used by the respective trust for development and social activities, he added. [link]