It has been stated by the Travancore Devaswom Board, which administers the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, that transparency will be ensured in all procurements for the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple.
During the last Ayyappa devotees’ season, ghee was procured for the Sabarimala temple from Milma, a state-owned company. A special investigation team was formed on the orders of the Kerala High Court to investigate the allegations that irregularities had taken place in this matter.
The investigation conducted by that committee found that the purchase of ghee from Milma caused a loss of Rs. 2.27 crore to the Travancore Devaswom Board. It was also found that, despite the objection of the Travancore Devaswom Board Commissioner, the contract was awarded to Milma, the Kerala dairy marketing cooperative, and that Food Safety Department officials did not conduct adequate quality checks. In this connection, the Special Investigation Team has registered a case against three people, including former Travancore Devaswom chief P.S. Prasanth.
Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday about this, the board chairman K. Jayakumar said:
Such irregularities will not happen again. Transparency will henceforth be maintained in all procurements for the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple. Tenders have been openly invited for 24 items.
At today’s Travancore Devaswom Board meeting, discussions were held on finalizing guidelines related to introducing greater transparency and competition in the tendering process. Likewise, Travancore Devaswom will introduce new guidelines for tender and auction procedures as well.
We procure a large number of items, including ghee and jaggery, for the Sabarimala temple. These purchases are carried out through the e-tendering system. Therefore, people do not need to come in person to the Travancore Devaswom office to learn about this. They can get clarification through the website itself. All procurement procedures will be completed before November. The board does not wish to show haste or make any mistakes in this matter, he said.
