‘Some trustees thwarting bid to grant powers to Malabar Devaswom Board’

The Kerala State Temple Employees Coordination Committee has claimed that a section of “corrupt” temple trustees and officials are trying to thwart the State government’s move to give full institutional autonomy to the Malabar Devaswom Board.

Functionaries of the committee, such as V.V. Sreenivasan, chairman, M.V. Sasi, vice-chairman, and P. Sreejish Nambeesan, joint convener, said on Sunday (November 1) that the temples in the Malabar region were still under the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951. Though the Kerala High Court and later the Supreme Court issued orders seeking a change in the situation, the successive governments had been sitting on them, they alleged.

At present, the Malabar Devaswom Board has no powers, with trustees handling the affairs of temples. The Assembly recently passed the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026, to give it institutional autonomy.

Mr. Sreenivasan said that only a handful of temple trustees and certain officials were blocking the government’s attempt to implement this Bill. He said that a section of devotees recently filed a petition in the High Court seeking its intervention, while highlighting all previous court orders. Notices have been issued to the government and five devaswom boards following this, he said. Mr. Sreenivasan alleged that some temple trustees were concerned about losing revenue from the temples.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health and Devaswom K. Muraleedharan recently said in the Assembly that the government’s decision to bring in a comprehensive Bill to give statutory powers to the Malabar Devaswom Board had already irked some trustees. They approached the government with a plea not to challenge their existing rights and warned of taking legal recourse if their administrative powers were challenged.