Deshpande-led panel favours better management of govt.-run temples in Karnataka
The Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission, headed by veteran Congress leader and MLA R.V. Deshpande, has proposed over 189 reforms in various departments, especially the establishment of a comprehensive framework for better management of the State's 34,500 temples.
The commission has proposed the creation of a temple task force to handle crowd control, emergency responses, ticketing, and distribution of prasad during festivals and large special events at temples.
Mr. Deshpande submitted the commission's eighth report to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday and new recommendations, aimed at revitalising key sectors such as temple management, food and civil supplies, government recruitment, healthcare to bring in better governance, transparency, and accountability in the delivery of public services.
The panel is in favour of delegating the power to sanction new staff posts to the Endowment Commissioner, bypassing the current dependency on Finance Department approval in order to increase efficiency in temple operations and transparency.
The temple staff salaries are funded by temple income and not the State Budget. So, the recommendation is expected to speed up appointments without additional financial burden on the government.
To ensure transparency and check corruption in recruitment, and enhance the integrity of exams conducted by the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), the commission stated the installation of CCTV surveillance, mobile jammers, secure storage of question papers and answer sheets were mandatory, and a two-tier exam system to reduce candidate volumes and enhance monitoring.
For providing digital governance, the commission recommended modernisation of frontline offices such as gram panchayats, primary health centres, raitha seva kendras, and police stations. The report noted that many of these offices currently lack basic infrastructure such as adequate hardware, Internet connectivity, and furniture.
It has proposed streamlining the process of issuing ration cards through the integration of State-run platforms such as Bhoomi, Aadhar, Kutumba and Seva Sindhu.
After submitting the report, Mr. Deshpande told reporters that the commission had previously made 5,039 recommendations in its earlier seven reports and 30% of them were implemented.
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