MUMBAI: The Shirdi Saibaba temple grossed Rs1,009 crore in cash collections from grateful devotees in the last four years while the Siddhi Vinayak temple earned Rs 206 crore. The two religious trusts, the richest in the state, spent 50% and 13% of their earnings, respectively, on charity in the same period, shows a document tabled in the state assembly by the state law and judiciary department.
 
For perspective, in 2011 alone the Tirupati Devasthanam in Andhra Pradesh earned Rs 1,100 crore in donations from devotees, in addition to interest earned from fixed deposits in banks. The Vaishnodevi shrine had an annual income of nearly Rs 500 crore in the same period.

The Shirdi shrine, administered by the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, spent Rs 540.49 crore of its cash collection on charity while the Siddhi Vinayak temple in Mumbai spent Rs 27.02 crore.

At the Shirdi temple, cash received from devotees rose from Rs 196.66 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 298.39 crore in the 8-month period from April to November 2012, a 51% increase. The average annual income of the Shirdi trust for the period worked out to Rs 252-plus crore while the average financial assistance provided by it was Rs 135 crore, a politician familiar with the trust said. The audit statements of the Sansthan at the end of 2012 showed that close to Rs 150 crore of its money was deposited in nationalized banks, in addition to Rs 50 crore worth of jewellery received from devotees, he said.

Officials said the Prabhadevi shrine's average annual cash collection came in at Rs 51.53 crore while it spent an average of Rs 6.75 crore every year from 2009 to 2012 on charity. The bulk of its funds are deposited with banks.

The trusts say they are willing to spend more on charity but cite various restrictions on charity spending by the state government as hampering them. "The Income Tax law stipulates that 85% of the funds with a charitable trust should be spent on welfare work. However, the state government has imposed a restriction of 15% spending on us. We have adequate funds and the will to help needy persons and organizations but such restrictions are a big hurdle," said NCP leader Subhash Mayekar who heads the Siddhi Vinayak trust.

Mayekar cited as example the state government's order directing them to provide medical equipment to state-run hospitals. "We approached public hospitals with a budget of Rs 10 crore for upgradation of medial machinery.

However, not a single hospital was ready to accept our offer as they did not have the necessary staff sanctioned to operate the machinery. We are helpless in such situations and end up paying huge income-tax on the money kept in banks."

As the bulk of the funds stay with the trusts, politicians have long jostled for their control. The trustees, who are political appointees, have an important say in how the funds are spent. The Congress and the NCP have been vying for control of the Shirdi trust.

NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad said the Shirdi shrine's funds should be used for the welfare of the devotees. "Ideally, the Sansthan should give 85% of its collection to the chief minister's relief fund. The remaining 15% of the funds should be retained with the trust for day-to-day upkeep and administrative work. A small portion from this amount should be used to build shelters for devotees who trek hundreds of miles to reach Shirdi."