Kochi, The TDB has told the Kerala High Court that it will introduce scientific and technological measures to strengthen transparency, accountability and financial discipline in the sale and distribution of ‘Adiya Sishtam Ghee’, a sacred offering of the Sabarimala temple.
“The Board shall ensure that the necessary technological and administrative arrangements are put in place and that the officers and employees concerned are made fully accountable for their respective duties. The entire exercise shall be completed before the commencement of the ensuing pilgrimage season 2026-27.
The court expressed satisfaction with the measures taken by the Travancore Devaswom Board , saying that they will address the major deficiencies in the existing mechanism and “are intended to strengthen transparency, accountability and financial discipline in the sale and distribution of Adiya Sishtam Ghee”. “The Board shall also ensure that the systems introduced are subjected to regular monitoring and verification so that incidents of this nature do not recur,” the court said. It also told the court that it would help to accurately ascertain the stock available at any given point in time, account for every transaction and reconcile the quantity of ghee received, stored and distributed with the sale proceeds. The TDB has also decided to install digital flow meters in the pipelines to ascertain the precise quantity of ghee flowing through them to the packing machines, the court had been told. The steel storage tanks and the vessels used for drawing ghee from the tanks will be duly calibrated to ensure accuracy in measurement, and CCTV cameras are also proposed to be installed at all the counters to facilitate continuous monitoring and prevent unauthorised activities, it had told the court. The timings of shift changes and transfers of stock between employees shall be properly recorded in the relevant registers; the entire process relating to the preparation, storage, accounting and distribution of ghee is to be computerised, and transaction tracking mechanisms as well as individual login credentials will be provided to all concerned employees, the TDB told the court.
