Tirupati temple board clears plan for transfer, VRS to non-Hindu employees
HYDERABAD: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) on Tuesday decided to transfer non-Hindus who work at various institutions run by the board to other Andhra Pradesh government departments or ask them to opt for its voluntary retirement scheme, a senior board official said.
TTD executive officer J Shyamala Rao told reporters that the trust board, which met at Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala, had decided that its institutions should not have any non-HIndus on its rolls.
TTD is the official custodian of Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati.
'The trust board approved the decision to take steps towards the transfer of non-Hindu employees working in the TTD to other government departments through alternative ways or by offering them Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS),' Rao said, while briefing reporters about the board's resolutions.
According to the TTD records of 2021, the board had about 40 non-Hindu employees at its institutions.
Tuesday's decision by the board comes months after TTD initiated disciplinary action in February this year against 18 non-Hindu employees for continuing to take part in non-Hindu religious activities. The order barred the 18 employees – all Christians who worked as lecturers, hostel workers, office subordinates, engineers, helpers, nurses and other paramedical staff in various institutions run by TTD – from attending all religious and spiritual events organised by the board.
None of them worked in the main Tirumala temple that attracts nearly 70,000 devotees every day and is considered one of the main nodes of Hindu pilgrimage spots.
At the time of joining TTD institutions, employees take an oath that they will follow the Hindu dharma and Hindu traditions only, and that they will not follow non-Hindu religious activities in compliance with Rule 9 (vi) of the Service Rules issued in G.O.Ms. No. 1060 Revenue (Endowments-1), dated October 24, 1989.
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