Temples under the purview of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department can now sell any excess paddy that they get from farmers to whom they have leased out their lands.
These would be sold to the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) and temples would be given the minimum support price (MSP) and incentive being given by the State government.
HR&CE Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran said that the department had tied up with the TNCSC and temples would be able to sell the paddy they received in addition to their needs. “What is required for neivedhyam, anna dhanam and other needs would be retained by the temples. This tie up was necessitated so that temples got proper rates and need not depend on the open market,” he said.
Farmers usually give 25% of their produce towards lease to temples and supply the rest via direct procurement centres to the TNCSC. The system will come into force from the current year itself. Officials in all regions have been instructed to inform farmers who have taken on lease temple lands, so that they can benefit from this, he added.
Temples like the Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Srirangam have practices where the paddy is offered to the deity as part of regular festivals. “At Srirangam, the deity inspects the paddy offered as part of the Nell Alavai Utsavam and the ritual is called Nell Alavai Kandu Arulal. Using a marakka (a wooden container used to measure grains) the paddy is poured before the utsava idol,” explained a former official. The temple also has huge granaries to store paddy where people pour in their offerings. Paddy is also offered as thulabaram.
Besides leasing out lands to farmers, some temples themselves grow paddy and other crops on their lands. “The staff at the Annamalaiyar temple have over the years ensured that the temple is self-sufficient and does not have to buy rice from the open market,” explained another official.
