Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (Telugu: తిరుమల తిరుపతి దేవస్థానములు) also referred as TTD is an independent trust which manages the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh. The trust not only oversees the operations and finances of the richest and the most visited religious center in the world,[1] it is also involved in various social, religious, literary and educational activities within Andhra Pradesh and India. TTD employs about 14,000 people[2] to maintain the 12 temples and sub-shrines under its control along with the execution of its social activities.
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The Beginning:TTD was established in 1932 as a result of the TTD Act of 1932. According to the act, administration of the temple was vested to a committee of seven members and overseen by a paid commissioner as appointed by the Madras Government. Advising the committee were two advisory councils - one composed of priests and temple administrators to aid the committee with the operations of the Tirumala temple and another composed of farmers for advise on Tirumala's land and estate transactions. The Act was revolutionary in that no specific qualification for temple administration was laid for the commissioner and the committee members. However the act was limited in scope in temple fund generation and usage for religious purposes.[3]
Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act (1951) superseded the 1932 act and sections 80 to 85 of the act were devoted to administration of TTD. Section 80 laid that a Board of Trustees consisting of five members as appointed by the Madras state government will look after TTD with the members holding office for five years. The act provided for the appointment of an Executive Officer (EO) who would be responsible for the properties and operations of TTD, custody of records of jewels, estate, money and funds of TTD, arrange and record collection of income and payment of expenses as well as execute activities beyond budget sanctioned by board of trustees if it involved pilgrim safety or service and later justify his actions and obtain approval for his actions. According to section 85 of the Act, TTD was to utilize the funds for maintenance and operations of the temples, educational institutes, hospitals, choultries and rest-houses, veterinary hospital under the devesthanam control. Also provisions for water supply, sanitary arrangements, roads and communications, lighting and electricity were also included. Power to acquire land and immovable property was also added, provided TTD had state government permission. The Act also covered training of priests and religious training under devasthanam. Thus the 1951 Act gave more controls and mechanisms for fund usage.[3]
Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institution and Endowments Act (1969) superseded the 1951 act with section 85 to 91 laying the provisions for TTD. Board of Trustees was expanded from five to eleven (11) with compulsory representation from certain communities. Three members from state legislative assembly, one person belonging to the scheduled castes and one woman member was made mandatory in the board of eleven whose term was fixed at three years. AP government was mandated with the appointment of EO and Deputy EO (DEO). Apart from the responsibilities defined in the previous Act, the major addition was that the devasthanam should promote study of Indian languages, should open and operate Sri Venkateswara University in Tirupati, should open and operate Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam. The objectives of Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam was promotion and propagation of Hindu Dharma by research, teaching, training and literature creation. Thus this Act was an improvement because of the 2 reason - inclusion of minority interests in the board of trustees as well as broadening the scope of the devasthanams to include study and dissemination of religious practices and knowledge.[3]
TTD Act (1979): Though the previous Act was path-breaking, it ended up making TTD equivalent to smaller temples in the state and the 1979 Act rectified this issue. The rank of EO was defined and additional posts of Financial Adviser and Chief Accounts Officer (CAO) created. The Act further broadened the scope of Sri Venkateswara Sishatachara Vidya Samstha (renamed from Hindu Dharma Prathishthanam) to include promotion of Hindu culture.[3]
A.P.Charitable & Hindu Religious Institutions & Endowments Act (1987) superseded the 1979 Act. The Board of Trustees was expanded from a maximum of eleven to fifteen while retaining previous minority and legislative representation (Section 96). The most controversial clause in the Act was abolishment of hereditary rights of temple priests as well as limited right to garner a share of the hundi proceeds.
After increased pressure from the priests over a long period of time,[4] the AP government made an amendment to the Act in 2006 to discontinue these 2 controversial clauses.
Chairman, Board of Trustees:
Executive Officer (EO): L.V.Subramanyam I.A.S (June-2011-)succeeding, I.Y.R.Krishna Rao I.A.S.(July 2009 - June-2011)[5] succeeding A.P.V.N. Sharma I.A.S.[6] (February 2005 - April 2007)
Srinivas (AP MLA),[7] Vijay Sai Reddy, O.V Ramana,Chintakunta Satyanarayana,Gokaraju Ramaraju, Dr. Chadalawada Sudha, T. Indira, Dr. I.V.Subba Rao I.A.S., P. Sundara Kumar I.A.S.[8]
TTD provides various services for pilgrims to Tirumala and Tirupati. It has arranged for buses between Tirumala and Tirupati with a frequency of every 2 minutes. Also, it has package tours to holy temples and religious sites from Tirumala and Tirupati to nearby places. TTD has free and paid accommodation in Tirumala and Tirupati. It provides free meals, although donors can make a contribution. The canteen has a capacity to feed 20,000 pilgrims a day. It is also providing free mineral water through pipe lines and banned use of plastic bottles
It has built the Vaikuntam Queue Complex and recently rolled out the queue management system to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims. It maintains the walkway between Tirupati and Tirumala (Alipiri route) and Kalyana Katta where pilgrims fulfill their vow of tonsure. TTD ensures that the practices of Angapradakshinam, Tulabharam (offering of one's weight in coins or food item) and Niluvudopidi (offering ornaments to Lord) is carried in the temple.
It sells prasadams outside the temple on the north west corner. Laddu (small and big), Vada, rice varieties and dosa are sold. Also, Seva and darshan prasadam are distributed here.Only Laddu and Vada prasadams are sold , rice varieties and dosas are not sold but distributed . It runs Information centers in the major towns and cities of Andhra Pradesh and in major Indian cities including New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata.
It has constructed 125 Kalyana mandapams (marriage halls) in major towns and cities of Andhra Pradesh. Such Kalyana Mantapams are built and operated even inseveral foreign countries for benefit of Indians. These are rented to people for Marriage or other major functions. Temples of Balaji are also built abroad by the TTD.
TTD has various schemes where devotees can fund part of the spending on social causes.
Making the Donation: Minimum donation for schemes is Rs. 1000 and multiples thereof. The donation can be made by cheque or demand draft drawn on scheduled bank in the name of 'The Executive Officer, name of scheme '. The cheque/demand draft has to be sent to ' The Secretary, <name of scheme>, Office of the Chief Engineer, TTD, Tirupati 517 501.
High value donors are classified under 3 categories and TTD provides uniform privileges to these donors. In addition, there might be privileges specific to each of the above schemes.
TTD constructs cottages, guest houses, and choultries in Tirumala and donors can donate for the same. Enquiry needs to be made in Tirumala Information Center about current projects. TTD is also currently accepting donations for building choultries in Tirupati under Sri Sreenivasam Complex Donation Scheme.
Apart from the common benefits mentioned above for the appropriate sum, the donor can stay for a period of 30 days in a calendar year (not exceeding 10 days at a time). A tablet with donor's name and place is mentioned in front of the cottage. However donations are not entitled to Income tax exemption. The privileges apply during the lifetime of the donor or 20 years in case of companies.
For information related to the schemes, visit the website of TTD
Tirupati Laddu Prasadam and GI controversy
The grant of Geographical Indication tag to Tirupati laddu by Indian Patent Office in 2009 raised many eye brows, as it paves the way for enhanced commercialization of faith. The patent grant became a controversy soon. R.S. Praveen Raj, a scientist and IPR expert from Kerala filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of GI tag to Tirupati laddu,[9] but withdrew the same as a similar public interest petition was filed before the Madras High Court by another person.[10] Later, Madras High Court dismissed the petition [11] on the ground that there already existed an alternate and efficacious remedy, in the form of rectification plea before the Registrar of GIs or the Intellectual Property Appellate Board (IPAB). The scientist, who had earlier filed the PIL in Supreme Court, then petitioned IPAB requesting it to initiate an action on its own will (suo motu) for the cancellation of GI status to the Tiruppathi laddu. But IPAB wrote back to him stating that it had no such power to act on its own volition. The Scientist was not in a mood to give it up. Of late, he has registered an application with the GI Registry [12] seeking removal of the entry pertaining to ‘Tirupati Laddu' from the GI Register.
TTD runs separate degree colleges, junior colleges and high schools for boys and girls, in and around Tirupati. It started with the establishment of Hindu High School in Vellore by Hathiramjee Mutt. TTD also runs a prestigious college in India's capital.
Sri Venkateswara Central Library and Research Centre (SVCLRC), established by TTD in 1993, houses approximately 40,000 volumes of rare and valuable books, mainly on religion and philosophy. The Research Wing works towards studying and publishing material related to Hindu religion, produce authentic papers on original Sanskrit texts and provide translations of major Hindu works in regional languages, Hindi and English.
The financial information of the TDD authority is not public and there is no transparency as to how the funds are used. The below are just estimates.
Darshan of saligrama silas once worshiped by Sri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan swamy author of famous venkateswara suprabhatam, stotram and prapatti along with rare sivanabha saligrama sila - visit divya salagrama kshetram, vijayawada, andhra pradesh http://maps.google.co.in/maps/place?cid=9813551820446248136&q=divya+salagrama+kshetram&gl=in&view=feature&mcsrc=photo&num=20&start=0