TN HR&CE Department Forms New Committee to Shortlist Temple Trustees

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department of Tamil Nadu has formally constituted a new State-level committee in Chennai to screen, sort, and shortlist candidates for appointment as non-hereditary trustees of major temples across the state. The mandate applies specifically to temples with annual incomes exceeding ₹10 lakh per annum.

The committee will function under the leadership of Thirugnana Balaya Swamigal of the Bommapuram Aadheenam in Mayilam, who has been appointed as its head. Serving alongside him as vice-president is retired District Judge K. Ramanathan.

The reconstitution of the body comes after the tenure of the previous screening committee reached its conclusion. In an official order detailing the decision, HR&CE Secretary J. Kumaragurubaran confirmed that the new committee was established to take over the responsibility of evaluating and shortlisting applicants.

The state-level panel features five additional members drawn from administration, the arts, and the department itself. These include film producer Archana Kalpathi Agoram, who produced the Tamil movies 'Bigil' and 'GOAT' starring Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, as well as former IAS officer P.R. Sampath.

Also nominated to the committee are singer T. Velmurugan, M. Sumathi, and the serving Commissioner of the HR&CE Department. Together, the members will review, evaluate, and shortlist candidates seeking trustee positions across temples meeting the ₹10 lakh annual income threshold.