Himachal Temple Donations : The government has revealed the donation of crores of rupees to the temples of Himachal Pradesh. The state government presented these figures in the assembly. According to these figures, between 1 January 2024 and 1 August 2026, 36 government temples in Himachal Pradesh received donations worth Rs 419.88 crore. In a written reply, Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri explained the purpose of the money.
He said, “The collected donations are used for temple maintenance, beautification, cleaning, lighting, running of gaushalas, religious events, fairs and paying the salaries of priests and temple staff. In response to a question from Congress MLA Kewal Singh, he said that 50 per cent of the donations are kept for the construction and maintenance of gaushalas.”
How much donation came from which temple?
Baba Balak Nath Devath Siddha Mandir in Hamirpur received donations of Rs.99.19 crore, followed by Naina Devi Mandir in Bilaspur (Rs.86.94 crore) and Mata Chintapurni Mandir in Una district (Rs.85.72 crore). The Jwala Ji temple in Jwalamukhi received a donation of Rs.36.57 crore, while the Balasundari temple in Trilokpur in Sirmaur received Rs. 28.99 crore was donated.
20 crore spent on foreign trips
From the government exchequer on foreign tours around Rs. 20 crore spent. In a written reply, Chief Minister Sukhu informed the House that the state government had spent around Rs 20 crore on foreign trips of ministers, MLAs and officials from January 2023 to July 2026. This expenditure includes foreign trips of Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Ministers of both Congress and BJP, MLAs and officials of various departments. This information was sought by BJP MLAs Rakesh Jamwal and Randhir Sharma.
Abolition of 556 posts of Panchayat Watchmen
Panchayati Raj Minister Anirudh Singh, in response to a question from Barsar MLA ID Lakhanpal, informed the House that 556 posts of Panchayat Watchmen have been abolished. He added that 400 multi-task workers would be appointed to carry out the tasks previously done by watchmen. This step will save Rs.1.70 crore annually.