SHIMLA, INDIA, July 8, 2012 (nydailynews.com): Himachal Pradesh is set to allow gold-rich temple trusts to melt tons of the precious metal in their coffers to turn them into mementos as is done at the Vaishno Devi shrine in Kashmir. The government is shortly going to sign an agreement with the public sector Mines and Minerals Trading Corp (MMTC), said an official. According to Rakesh Kanwar, director of the Language, Art and Culture department, both gold and silver lying in the treasuries of 20 government-controlled Hindu temples would be used for making souvenirs for sale. Besides souvenirs, gold and silver coins would be minted. The coins and the mementos would have inscriptions of the respective temple deities. According to government estimates, more than 660 lbs. of gold and 50,000 lbs. of silver are with the 20 temples.
The government last year amended the Himachal Pradesh Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1984, that allowed conversion of 50 percent of the metal reserves in temples into mementos. “Keeping the precious metal in safe custody is a costly affair. The income from the sale of coins and mementos will be used for temple development and social activities,” state temple administrator Prem Prasad Pandit said. The hill state, also known as the “Land of the Gods,” has 28 prominent Hindu temples that have a combined cash reserve of US$18 million. According to the government proposal, only 50 percent of the total gold and silver lying with a temple would be converted into coins and mementos. “Of the remaining 50 percent, 10 percent is to be kept with the temple trust, 20 percent will be invested in gold bonds of the State Bank of India and the remaining will be used to adorn the deities,” said an official.