Tirupathi may have to destroy old notes of 49 crore rupees.

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam has to destroy nearly 49 crore rupees worth of demonetized notes. Tirupathi temple is the India’s richest Hindu temple. The Government of India declined the temple’s repeated pleas for a single-window opportunity to exchange the demonetized notes. Even after the announcement by the Tirupati Temple on 8th November 2016. That it has stopped accepting the old 500 and 1000 rupee currency notes. At its sale counter as per the government guidelines. It continued to get the demonetized notes as donations into the Srivari Hundi. It continued even after the RBI’s given period of exchanging the demonetized notes ended.

After 5 years of demonstration, old notes worth of 49.7 crores. of which 6.34 lakh currency notes are of Rs 500 denomination and 1.8 lakh currency notes are of Rs 100, piled up in the temple’s treasury not exchanged because of the RBI and finance ministry guidelines.

What Govt said to Tirumal Tirupathi Devasthanam

According to the Tirupati Temple Chairman YV Subba Reddy. No positive response is received despite him personally reaching Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Though she has promised to take the issue up to the RBI, for the last 11 months, the plea remains on paper. The Tirupati Temple administration has tried enough, to pursue the Central Government to give them a one time opportunity to exchange notes. But the government couldn’t grant this request for various constraints.

It has become a big dilemma for the temple as according to the government guidelines. Holding on to demonetized notes after the window period is an offence. And those who still have the old currency should immediately destroy it. On the other hand, they are hesitant to destroy the currency as these donations made by the devotees to Lord Venkateshwara. Destroying the notes would mean hurting their faith.

Though the temple still contemplating as to what to do with this huge amount of demonetized currency, with no options left