Bhopal- In Bhopal, a petition has been filed in the High Court concerning the unauthorized appointment of priests and their representatives, who have reportedly accessed the sanctum sanctorum and Nandi Hall in Ujjain's Mahakaleshwar temple.

Additionally, a written complaint has been lodged with Ujjain Collector in connection with this issue.

A social worker Sarika Guru from Ujjain has alleged that the temple's operations are not being conducted in accordance with the rules and regulations. It's claimed that the temple committee unlawfully appointed all 105 priests and their representatives. Furthermore, the provision allocating 35 percent of donation box proceeds and 75 percent of consecration funds to the priests (Pujaris and Purohits) is cited as a violation of the Temple Act 1982.

Following a petition filed at the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Sarika Guru and her husband Jairam Choubey also submitted a written complaint to Ujjain Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh.

Currently, the Mahakaleshwar temple employs 16 Pujaris, 22 representatives of priests, 22 Purohits , and their 45 representatives, whose appointments have become subject to legal scrutiny.

Subsequent to the court petition, the priests have accused social worker Sarika Guru of defaming the temple's image. On April 4, priests and representatives submitted a memorandum to Ujjain Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh, lodging complaints against Sarika Guru and alleging that she is tarnishing the temple's reputation.

In her written complaint to Ujjain Collector Neeraj Kumar Singh, social worker Sarika Guru has alleged that priestly individuals have encroached upon 19 temple sites within the temple complex, contravening the Mahakaleshwar Temple Act 1982. These individuals purportedly collect substantial sums from devotees every month.

Sarika Guru calls for a thorough investigation into the movable and immovable properties of the priests, citing financial irregularities and misconduct as tarnishing the temple's image.

She raises important questions, " Before or after the implementation of the Mahakaleshwar Temple Act 1982, no priest, employee, or representative has been appointed statutorily. All those individuals who have approached the Collector claiming to be priests should first provide proof of their appointments. Is there any statutory provision to allocate 35 percent of the donation boxes and 75 percent of the consecration receipts to the priests? By doing this, the Temple Act 1982 is being violated."

In this regard, Mahakaleshwar Temple Administrator Mrinal Meena stated, "Till now, no complaint has come to me for investigation. Only when it does, I will be able to provide information."

While speaking to The Mooknayak about this matter, petitioner Sarika Guru highlighted that there is no provision in the Temple Act to distribute donated money to the priests.

In such a scenario, the temple administration is unlawfully allocating 35 percent of the donated funds among 16 Pujaris. Sarika Guru mentioned that she had also lodged a written complaint regarding this issue with the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta and Economic Offenses Bureau in 2023.

She emphasized that all development works or programs carried out by the Mahakal Temple Committee are funded solely by donated money. Furthermore, she explained that there are five donation boxes present in Nandi Hall, which are opened one by one each month. Sixty-five percent of the donations are allocated to the temple committee, while the remaining 35 percent is given to the priests.

Sarika stated, "Pujaris have not been appointed under the Temple Act. The complaint against me has been made to mislead the Collector. The complaint is false and baseless."

The priests of the Mahakal Temple who receive a 35 percent share from the donation box amount include Ganesh Narayan Sharma, Kailash Narayan Sharma, Sanjay Sharma, Ajay Sharma, Amar Sharma, Kamal Sharma, Ghanshyam Sharma, Dinesh Trivedi, Gaurav Sharma, Dilip Sharma, Vijay Sharma, Vijay Shankar Sharma, Shriram Sharma, and the late Shantikumar. Additionally, Ghanshyam Pujari, who has been appointed as the government priest by the temple committee, receives a monthly salary of Rs. 21,000, along with a share of 35 percent of the donation amount. Furthermore, there are four assistants to whom the temple administration provides Rs. 11,000 each.

A year ago, Sarika Guru also lodged a complaint with the Lokayukta and Economic Offenses Wing (EOW), Ujjain. The complaint questioned the basis for allocating 35 percent of the funds from the donation boxes to the priests from 1985 onwards. It urged action against those responsible for causing financial losses to the government.

The government invested substantial funds in the development of the Mahakal Lok. A total of Rs 856 crore was allocated for the development of the Mahakal Corridor in Ujjain, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the project. Additionally, Rs 20 crore was allocated for the sewage system in Rudrasagar, Rs 16 crore for parking solar panels, and Rs 3.25 crore for the development of the Mahakal Gate. The funding for the Mahakal Corridor project included Rs 421 crore from the Madhya Pradesh government, Rs 271 crore from the Central government, and Rs 21 crore from the Mahakal Temple Committee.

-Translated by Geetha Sunil Pillai