New Delhi, Sep 22: The Supreme Court today said the vault ‘B' of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple will be opened only after substantial work regarding documentation and preservation of assets unearthed from other ‘kalaras' (vaults) of the shrine is completed.
A bench headed by justice R V Raveendran turned down the plea of an expert committee to hand over the security of the temple to Central paramilitary forces and directed the state government to provide foolproof cover to the temple to protect its assets which are estimated to be over Rs 1.50 lakh crore.
The bench also said that the management of the temple would provide an amount of Rs 25 lakh per year for preservation of assets and security of the temple and the rest of the amount needed would be borne by the state government.
The court said that no tender should be floated for private players for giving contract for preservation work of the assets and said that it has to be done by Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KELTRON). The court said it will take up the matter again after three months.
The apex court had on September 16 reserved its orders for security of the temple and opening of vault B. It had said that tradition and customs would be protected as far as possible in providing security to the Temple. PTI
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