HC directs HR&CE to ensure living wage for temple staff
Madurai : Madras high court has directed the Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR and CE) department’s commissioner to ensure that a living wage was paid to each of the staff working in public temples coming under the purview of the department.
Article 43 of the Constitution talks of payment of living wage,” the judges observed. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Madurai | Silver Rate in Madurai | Bank Holidays in Madurai | Public Holidays in Madurai | Madurai AQI | Weather in Madurai | Petrol Price in Madurai | Diesel Price in Madurai | CNG Price in Madurai | LPG Price in Madurai Stay updated with the latest Madurai news. The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Periyanambi Narasimha Gopalan of Tirunelveli district. A division bench of Justice G R Swaminathan and Justice P Murugan observed that the temple staff are paid out of the income generated by the particular temple. This leads to an invidious situation. If a particular temple is bereft of properties and is not able to generate sufficient income, its staff are paid a pittance. In some cases, the monthly pay of the cook is as low as Rs400. One can imagine the pay drawn by other staff such as sweepers and gardeners. The judges observed that the HR and CE department, which has supervisory jurisdiction over the temples, cannot plead lack of resources. There are several ways to raise funds. Devotees must be motivated to form groups. Each group must be in charge of a particular temple. They must be tasked with ensuring that the staff are paid a decent salary. “Since the issue has financial implications, we will not be justified in directing payment of statutory minimum wage. But certainly a decent wage must be given. “There is something called temple economics. It is time to embrace technology. Social media can be deployed effectively to mobilise support for this noble cause. The authorities shall ensure that living wage is paid to each of the staff working in the public temples coming under the purview of the HR and CE department. We grant two months’ time to the commissioner of HR and CE to submit an action-taken report,” the judges directed. Download the TOI App.
The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities to pay the salaries to archakas and all other temple employees across Tamil Nadu, as per the Minimum Wages Act and on a par with government servants, irrespective of the income of the individual temples, as per the earlier directions issued by the court.