NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 2011 (ibn live): The Supreme Court on Thursday appointed a five-member committee to supervise the unearthing and preservation of assets of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The committee will be headed by Director General of National Museum C.V. Anand Bose and will consist of representatives of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The committee has been given the task to ascertain whether the six vaults should be opened or not. The committee will also draw up an inventory of the temple treasures and wealth into three categories – the historical value of the treasure discovered, whether the treasure can be kept in the temple for religious purposes. The committee will also decide whether a museum has to be set up or not.
The court also asked the media not to speculate on the worth of assets of the temple before its valuation has been completed.
Marthanda Varma, the eldest member of the Travancore royal family, has said that all the treasure that has been unearthed at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple belongs to the presiding Deity.