The Andhra Pradesh state government on Friday issued orders increasing the financial support to the temples across the state. The state government is currently giving Rs 5,000 per month to over 5,400 temples in the state.
The state government issued orders on the day increasing the financial assistance to Rs 10,000 per month under Dhupa Deepa Naivedyam (DDN) scheme. Earlier, the Congress government had introduced the scheme with the payment of Rs 2,500 per month.
The TDP government during 2014-19 had increased the amount to Rs 5,000 per month in 2015. The amount would be paid to the temple priests every month. The government had decided to pay Rs 7,000 to the temple priest for his survival and Rs 3,000 for the Dhupa Deepa Naivedyam in the temple.
The state government would have an additional burden of Rs 32.4 crore with the increase in the DDN Scheme financial assistance. The government would pay this amount from the Sarva Sreyo Nidhi scheme of the endowments department.
