Andhra Pradesh government will soon constitute a trust to mobilise funds for building Venkateshwara temples across the State as well in the capitals of other States. 

The TDP Government had earlier introduced the Anna Danam and Prana Danam programmes. As the third programme, we are now planning for the construction of temples and a trust will be formed only for the service of the God,” Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu told newspersons in Tirupati after a darshan in Tirumala along with his family members on Friday.

The funds to be mobilised through the trust would be spent in a systematic manner, Naidu said, adding that steps would be taken to recover land and other properties of the Lord which were illegally occupied so far in Tirumala. 

The Chief Minister reasserted that all the seven hills were owned by the Lord completely and said that ‘the sacred place’ should not be desecrated or be used for commercial purposes. All the lands and properties allotted for commercial purposes illegally would be taken back by the Government, he said. 

Permissions were accorded to Mumtaz, Emaar and Devlok hotels by allocating 35.32 acres of land close to the hills  by the previous government. The permissions, according to Naidu, were being repealed as no one should use the vicinity of the hills for commercial purposes and desecrate the surroundings. 

In continuation of several protests launched in the last five years to uphold the sanctity of Tirumala, a purification process was currently under way.

Published on March 21, 2025