The Kerala High Court has asked the Travancore Devaswom Board to create a comprehensive, systematic and preferably digitised inventory for all consumable and non-consumable assets at Sabarimala and related establishments. The direction matters for UPSC because it links temple administration to governance, audit compliance and public procurement discipline.

The court also told officials of the Sabarimala Development Project to strictly follow statutory requirements, financial rules and procurement safeguards before finalising purchases. The immediate dispute concerned approval for a contract to supply 1,000 double-decker mild steel cots for daily-wage staff deployed at the Sannidhanam.

Audit Department objections formed the background to the court’s scrutiny. The objections included the claim that the tender submission for the cots, although tied to a manufacturer from Tamil Nadu, did not include the manufacturer’s photographs and technical specifications before the Ombudsman, and that the tender process appeared to have been started at the last minute.

A separate report said the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which runs the Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala, received ₹96.98 crore in donations to its various trusts and schemes in a single day. The same report said the revised donor privilege policy took effect the following day and that 2,460 devotees made donations during the reported day.

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