Mandir trust submits Rs 35-cr budget

PATNA: The Mahavir Mandir Trust, which runs a temple near Patna Junction and several hospitals and an orphanage in the city, has submitted its 2008-09 budget, which is of Rs 35.13 crore, to the Bihar State Board of Religious Trust.

It is not only the highest temple trust budget in Bihar and Jharkhand but also the second highest in north India after the famous Vaishno Devi shrine.

Budgets of other temples in Bihar and Jharkhand are in the range of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 40 lakh. After Mahavir Mandir's, the highest budget submitted by any trust is that of Singheshwar Sthan trust in Madhepura district which is to the tune of Rs 40 lakh.

The income of famous Deoghar temple (Jharkhand) is within the range of Rs 30 lakh to Rs 40 lakh per annum.The other temple trusts whose annual income is more than Rs 10 lakh in Bihar include Garibnath Mandir trust at Muzaffarpur, Burhanath Mandir trust at Bhagalpur and Mundeshwari Mandir trust at Kaimur hills.

The Mahavir Mandir Trust meets all its expenditure with internal resources and bank loans. During the current financial year, a loan of Rs 9.49 crore has been sanctioned by the State Bank of India for liquidating an old loan and purchase of new equipment for various hospitals being run by the temple trust.

Mahavir Mandir Trust secretary Kishore Kunal said the internal resources of Mahavir Mandir alone are to the tune of Rs 2.7 crore. In addition, profits from sale of books and precious stones, which are around Rs 10 lakh, are directly spent on the health services.
After deducting its internal expenditure, Mahavir Mandir Trust annually spends Rs 2 crore on health and other welfare measures, Kunal said.