Visakhapatnam: Temple priests in Andhra Pradesh are chanting a different mantra. This one is aimed at the state endowments department, which, they allege, is giving them the short shrift in terms of pay and other benefits, as compared to other government staff. The state has over 22,000 temples under three categories, based on their earnings. While under the ‘A’ category (temples which earn Rs 25 lakh and above annually) there are 124 temples, the ‘B’ category (earnings between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 25 lakh) has 661 temples.

The number of temples in the ‘C’ category (earnings below Rs 2 lakh) is the highest at 21,468. “Priests (archakas) serving the ‘C’ category temples are the most neglected. They do not get any salary or the dhupa, deepa, naivedyam scheme allowance, which is meant to take care of the daily rituals of the temples,” Mr K Murali Krishna, general secretary of the Vizag District Archaka Sangam and head priest of the One Town Shiva-layam, told this correspondent.

While the priests of ‘A’ category temples are mostly getting salaries as per the Pay Revision Commission, those in the next category are getting a consolidated pay ranging between Rs 1,000 and Rs 10,000. Those in the Ç category are getting much less. “In fact, at least 15,000 priests in this category of temples are not even listed by the endowments departments. They survive only on the dakshinas given by devotees,” Mr Y. Brahmalinga Swamy, joint secretary of the sangam and head priest of the Sai Baba temple at East Point colony, said. The endowments department earns Rs 600 crore, Rs 215 crore and Rs 28 crore annually from the three categories of temples.

Vizag Development Council chief O. Naresh Kumar said the temples had vast tracts of land, most of which have been encroached and the rest having been taken on lease by “powerful people” at ridiculously low rates. He said the state government should set up an exclusive Special Investigative Team to look into the large-scale encroachments of temple lands. The archakas said they would be forced to move court if the state government did not resolve their problems.