MP’s temple rejuvenation budget slashed to 33% amid debt burden

Bhopal: The government's push to preserve and protect the religious and cultural heritage of Madhya Pradesh has taken a major funding blow. In what is being seen as a direct fallout of the state's mounting public debt, the fund allotments for restoration and renovation of temples and other religious sites are down to a third of what they used to be over the last three years.The government, in a written reply to a question in the Assembly, admitted to a sharp reduction in funds allocation for restoration of religious landmarks.
According to the state religious trusts and endowments department, the government allocated Rs 11.99 crore from the public exchequer for renovation of temples in fiscal 2023-24. The funding under this head saw a sharp dip thereafter, with Rs 8.28 cr sanctioned in 2024-25 and Rs 3.98 cr in 2025-26. In response to a separate part of the same query, the government stated it is responsible for the upkeep of 22,098 temples, adding that more than 10 percent of these — 2536 shrines — are in Chief minister Mohan Yadav native Ujjain district.However, funds issued for the rejuvenation/renovation of temples are not necessarily linked to shrines maintained by the government, the written reply clarified, adding that those in the custodianship of the state are selected shrines for which it releases regular funds to districts where they belong.On the other hand, funds for the rejuvenation/renovation of temples are decided on a temple to temple or case to case basis, considering the demand or need and not on a district to district basis, the government added in its reply.The reply came in response to a query by Congress MLA Bhairon Singh Bapu, who asked how many temples were managed or maintained by the state religious trusts and endowments department. He also sought to know the amount sanctioned for renovation of temples from 2023 till date.In his written response in the Assembly on Feb 19, religious trusts endowment minister Dharmendra Singh Lodhi said the sum issued for rejuvenation or renovation of temples across the state in fiscal 2023-24 was Rs 11.99 crore, which subsequently dropped to Rs 8.28 crore for 2024-25 and further down to Rs 3.98 crore for 2025-26 was Rs 3.98 cr (till Feb).The second part of the question was about the total number of temples maintained by the state and not the money sanctioned for the upkeep of 22,098 shrines. In response, the minister, with independent charge, said 2,536 of these temples maintained by the government are in Ujjain alone, accounting for the maximum number of shrines in a single district.Of the four main cities of Madhya Pradesh, Ujjain holds the maximum temples maintained by the state, followed by Indore at 1,015, Gwalior at 865, Bhopal at 29 and Jabalpur none.