Overview
- State audit reports for 2019-20 and 2020-21 detail weak record-keeping and missing physical verification of gold, silver and other valuables at the Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple.
- The 2020-21 review says combined Devaswom establishments spent about Rs 25 crore more than they earned, and temple expenditure that year was three times its income during a Covid-hit downturn.
- The 2019-20 audit records 522.86 kg of ivory from tusk-trimming not handed to the forest department and missing mahazar and handover receipts despite a directive from the Assistant Conservator of Forests.
- Auditors cite unexplained weight loss and substitutions in ritual items, including a gold crown swapped for a silver ornament and a 2.65 kg silver vessel replaced by one weighing 750 g, along with unrecorded donations.
- Guruvayur Devaswom chairman V K Vijayan says the observations predate the current board and notes court filings and forest-department involvement in postmortems, while auditors recommend stronger accounting and oversight.