Transfer Of Jagannath Temple Funds To Nationalised Bank By March 30: Minister

Bhubaneswar: Jagannath Temple funds amounting to Rs 545 crore kept in a private bank will be transferred to a nationalized bank by March 30, Law Minister Pratap Jena informed the Assembly on Tuesday.

In a written reply, the minister informed that the total temple funds amounted to Rs 626,44,78,444. Of this, Rs 592 crore was kept in YES Bank — Rs 545 crore in fixed deposit and Rs 47 crore in a Flexi account — till September 30, 2019. While the money kept in the Flexi account has been withdrawn, the remaining Rs 545 crore will be transferred to a nationalized bank in two phases on March 19 and 30, he added.

Earlier on February 6, the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), Krishan Kumar, had issued a press briefing to state that the temple funds kept in YES Bank will now be kept in nationalized banks.

While the foundation funds of the temple will be kept in the State Bank of India (SBI), the corpus and the temple funds will be kept in three nationalized banks. The temple administration will invite applications from the nationalised banks. It will keep 50 per cent of the funds in the bank that will offer more interest against the deposit. Of the remaining 50 per cent fund, 25 per cent fund will be kept in two other nationalized banks.

The temple servitors and other stakeholders had protested against the deposit of temple funds in YES Bank during a meeting of the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee on December 20 last year. Following the protest, SJTA had decided to withdraw the funds from YES Bank and invited tenders from 17 nationalised banks.