Ram Mandir among India’s highest-earning shrines:A look at donations for India’s richest temples

The iconic Ram Mandir is once again in the limelight. First time a controversy has erupted regarding transaction of money at this holy place of worship. This has put donations and earnings made by the temple trust, ‘Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust’ in focus How much money Ram Mandir trust earns? The Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust had recently released its long-term financial reports. The numbers show that the temple has quickly become one of the most visited and highest-earning religious places in India. In its annual financial report, the trust revealed that Ram Mandir earned a massive ₹327.07 crore in a single financial year. 2 main earning sources of Ram Mandir: Direct Donations: Devotees from India and other countries gave ₹153 crore using cash, checks, and online payments. Bank Interest: The trust earned ₹173 crore just from the interest on the money parked in bank accounts. People in India worship temples. They do not just visit temples to pray for themselves or friends and families but also they donate huge amounts of cash, gold or silver under the preception that they haven’t given their belongings to the temple’s trust but to the almighty. Because these temples possess so much wealth, their have been instances where some miscreants were found to have stolen or tricked people to extract money. Ayodhya Ram Mandir donation scam: Investigators have found that crores of rupees given by devotees went missing from the donation boxes. The controversy stemmed from allegations by SP leader Pawan Pandey, former MLA from Ayodhya, who claimed that between ₹7 crore and ₹7.5 crore in donations had been swindled. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav also alleged that large sums of donated funds had gone missing. Other shocking temple scams in India Police had investigated missing temple wealth in Sabarimala and Padmanabhaswamy temples in Kerala. An official audit report had previously revealed that gold was missing or unaccounted for from the historic vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Similarly, the Sabarimala Temple has faced strict government scrutiny over how gold and cash move from the donation boxes into the main treasury due to fears of theft. How much money and gold do people donate at temples in India? Indian temples possess some of the biggest treasures in the world. Devotees donate out of pure faith, and over hundreds of years, this wealth has grown to a massive size. Citing the India Bullion and Jewellers Association (IBJA), news agency PTI had earlier reported that Indian temples possess idle gold holdings worth 1,000 tonnes. Many trusts currently hold large quantities of idle gold — nearly 1,000 tons in total. –IBJA’s Gujarat State president Nainesh Pachchigar Temples with highest donations: India has a few massive temples that receive the largest share of wealth: The financial figures mentioned above are based on publicly available reports, news wire agencies and annual reports of respective trusts.