With the recent finding of cash and valuables at Puttaparthi, it is being suggested by many that the trust be run on the lines of TTD at Tirumala. While I do not want to comment on the way the funds received through 'Hundi' at TTD are managed, I strongly feel that the system of receiving cash in the Hundi itself needs to be changed. I respect the sentiments of people who put small change or even a few tens of rupees either in the Archaka's plate or the Hundi. There is no problem with that.
It is the large bundles of cash and valuables which are dumped that should not be accepted by the authorities. We hear of large amounts – tens of lakhs or sometimes even a crore being found during the daily ritual of counting the collections. Since the person depositing the cash and its source are unknown, the amount has to be considered as black money. Why should any trust, even if it is in the name of a God, be allowed to deal with black money?
Suggestions for Modifying the Collection System
1. Provide boxes instead of the large open vessels as Hundi.
2. Provide only a small slot at the top permitting a single note or coins to pass through.
3. Most devotees (especially those who form the regular queue) will not be affected by this.
4. Large contributions should be accepted only through a bank transfer. If it makes the contributors feel happier for sentimental reasons, they can deposit the counterfoil of the transaction in the Hundi.
5. In the present scenario of net banking and wire transfers, the procedure will not inconvenience anyone who wants to deposit legal money.
6. The TTD board, bankers, and IT department should give an assurance that the information will not be made public unless something is amiss in the IT returns. This way the contribution will remain anonymous, as it should be (Gupt Daan).
7. This will also result in more transparency in the accounts of the board while reducing their (and the bankers') burden of counting large amounts of cash every day.
If there is a sharp dip in the collections, we can be sure that it is not because of the inconvenience due to the system but that the amounts collected previously were ill-gotten money. If it results in the reduction in the number of such VIP guests, it will make darshan easier for the common people. God can do without money - of any color, and he surely wouldn't want it in black.
It is the large bundles of cash and valuables which are dumped that should not be accepted by the authorities. We hear of large amounts – tens of lakhs or sometimes even a crore being found during the daily ritual of counting the collections. Since the person depositing the cash and its source are unknown, the amount has to be considered as black money. Why should any trust, even if it is in the name of a God, be allowed to deal with black money?
Suggestions for Modifying the Collection System
1. Provide boxes instead of the large open vessels as Hundi.
2. Provide only a small slot at the top permitting a single note or coins to pass through.
3. Most devotees (especially those who form the regular queue) will not be affected by this.
4. Large contributions should be accepted only through a bank transfer. If it makes the contributors feel happier for sentimental reasons, they can deposit the counterfoil of the transaction in the Hundi.
5. In the present scenario of net banking and wire transfers, the procedure will not inconvenience anyone who wants to deposit legal money.
6. The TTD board, bankers, and IT department should give an assurance that the information will not be made public unless something is amiss in the IT returns. This way the contribution will remain anonymous, as it should be (Gupt Daan).
7. This will also result in more transparency in the accounts of the board while reducing their (and the bankers') burden of counting large amounts of cash every day.
If there is a sharp dip in the collections, we can be sure that it is not because of the inconvenience due to the system but that the amounts collected previously were ill-gotten money. If it results in the reduction in the number of such VIP guests, it will make darshan easier for the common people. God can do without money - of any color, and he surely wouldn't want it in black.