AP HIgh Court refuses to vacate stay on TTD gold plating plan

By S A Ishaqui

Hyderabad, May 3: The AP High Court on Monday refused to allow the TTD to accept contributions from the public for gold plating the walls of the sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala under the Ananda Vimana Swarnamayam project.

An exclusive bench comprising Justice B. Prakash Rao and Justice R. Kantha Rao, which commenced hearing on petitions filed against the project, refused to give interim relief to the TTD. The bench will continue the hearing every day in the morning session.

Mr M.S. Ramachandra Rao, arguing on behalf of the petitioner, Mr G. Raghava Reddy of Devalayala Parirakshana Samiti, contended that the respondents cannot be permitted to treat the walls of the prakaram and the deity separately by covering the prakaram with gold plates and preventing the inscriptions from being read.

Mr Rao said the sanctum sanctorum of the temple is considered to be sacrosanct by millions of devotees. He said it was the fundamental right of the devotees who go round the temple to have access to the inscriptions on the prakarams.

He submitted that digitising the inscriptions and placing them in a museum would not amount to conservation or preservation.

Mr Rao said the TTD project was in fact not meant to cover the temple with gold — it was copper plating of the temple with a veneer of gold on these copper plates.

Counsel said the respondents wished to drive nails into the walls of the sanctum sanctorum by making more than 10,000 holes to support the weight of the gold-coated copper plates.

He said about 200 kg of gold would be used to coat about 1,400 kg of copper plates by a process of electrolysis.

Their weight would have an adverse impact on the structure of the temple.

Mr A. Sudersan Reddy, additional advocate-general, appearing for the TTD and Mr D. Prakash Reddy, senior counsel, appearing on behalf of Mr D.K. Adikesavulu Naidu, TTD chairman, urged the court to vacate the interim stay and hear the case after the vacations. Mr Sudersan Reddy said devotees had stopped offering donations to the project due to the stay.

Mr Ramachandra Rao objected to the plea and stated that the balance of convenience lies in continuing the interim order and not in vacating it.