Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: A day after the Supreme Court directed the Kerala government to provide foolproof cover to the Padmanabhaswamy temple; state Chief Minister Oommen Chandy met Union Home Minister P Chidambaram here on Friday.
Although details about the meeting are yet to emerge, Chandy is expected to have briefed the Home Minister about the steps being taken by the state government to ensure foolproof security to the temple and its treasure said to be worth more than Rs one lakh crore.
Yesterday, the Supreme Court turned down the plea of an expert committee to hand over the security of the temple to central paramilitary forces. The court had also made it clear that the issue of opening of Vault-B of temple will be taken up only after documentation and preservation of assets unearthed so far.
The bench also said that the management of the temple would provide an amount of Rs 25 lakh per year for preservation of assets and security of the temple and the rest of the amount needed would be borne by the state government.
The court had earlier expressed apprehension that the massive wealth was perhaps at a "risk" in view of the widespread publicity given to it in the media.
Importantly, the Kerala government has been clear in its stand that the treasure belongs to the temple and it should be kept there only.
"The treasure unearthed from temple vaults belongs to the temple. As far as possible, it should be kept at the temple itself. This is the government`s stand," Chandy said after the SC ruling yesterday.
The Chief Minister said a technical committee formed to give a detailed report on the new technology required for the protection of the assets will meet on Sept 26 in his presence.
The temple is already under multi-tier security.
