Financial Assistance For Renovation And Special Repair Works To Hindu Religious Institutions Situated In Economically Weaker Section Areas / Adi-Dravidar Colonies

What is this renovation assistance scheme?

Financial Assistance For Renovation And Special Repair Works To Hindu Religious Institutions Situated In Economically Weaker Section Areas / Adi-Dravidar Colonies is a scheme of the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, Government of Puducherry. It gives a one-time grant to small temples in poor localities so that structural repairs can be carried out, most directly, so that building materials can be bought.

According to the RTI manual of the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, one-time financial assistance is being extended to temples not coming under the purview of the department and situated in Adi-Dravidar colonies and economically weaker section areas, towards the purchase of building materials for renovation and special repair works.

The department's own sanction statements record the scale of the assistance. Under the head "Financial assistance sanctioned to temples situated in the A.D. Colonies / economically weaker section areas towards renovation and special repairs", individual sanctions of Rs 2,50,000 appear repeatedly, alongside smaller sanctions such as Rs 75,000 and Rs 70,000 where the work is lighter. The ceiling commonly cited for this scheme is Rs 2,50,000 as a one-time grant.

The legal basis is the "Rules to regulate the release of Financial Assistance to the Hindu religious institutions in the U.T. of Pondicherry for carrying out renovation and special repair works", dated 8 March 1976, framed to facilitate the expeditious sanction of financial assistance to religious institutions situated in the economically weaker section areas and Adi-Dravidar colony areas of the Union Territory.

Who is eligible for this renovation assistance?

A religious institution can apply if:

• It is a Hindu religious institution situated in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• It is located in an economically weaker section area or an Adi-Dravidar colony.
• It does not come under the direct purview of the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf. The department directly administers 243 temples under the Puducherry Hindu Religious Institutions Act, 1972 and Rules, 1975, and indirectly administers about 1,000 other public temples. It is largely the second group this scheme is aimed at.
• The renovation or special repair work cannot be met from the institution's own funds. The application form asks this question in terms.

Who cannot apply:

• Individuals. No person receives money under this scheme, and there is no personal benefit to claim. The applicant is the institution, through its authority.
• Temples outside economically weaker section areas and Adi-Dravidar colonies, which must instead use the general Government grant for renovation with the one-third public matching contribution.
• Institutions with sufficient funds of their own to do the work.
• Mosques and wakfs, which receive renovation and special repair grant-in-aid through the Pondicherry Wakf Board rather than under these rules. The department's sanction lists show grants to institutions such as a Wakf Anjuman and a Pallivasal under that separate route.

What documents are required?

The prescribed form is Annexure-1, the "Application for Government Grant for improvement of the Religious Institutions". It asks for the following.

The form is signed by the authority of the institution, with designation.

How to apply for renovation and special repair assistance

1. Have the work assessed and costed. Get a plan and estimate prepared for the renovation or special repair work. Annexure-1 requires the total estimated cost and asks that the plan and estimate be attached, so an unpriced request will not go far.
2. Constitute or confirm the committee. The form asks whether a renovation committee exists and whether there is a Board of Trustees. The department's manual notes that a renovation committee is appointed on the request of the concerned temple authorities to undertake the renovation of the temple.
3. Obtain the Annexure-1 form from the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, Government of Puducherry. The department's forms and RTI manual are published through hri.py.gov.in and py.gov.in.
4. Fill in every column. The institution's name and commune, the purpose, the nature of the work, annual income from property and other sources, the amount applied for, the estimated cost, the committee and trustee details, duration of the work, outstanding liability and the year of the last Kumbabishegam.
5. Enclose the plan and estimate and a brief history of the religious institution as a separate sheet, and state clearly why the work cannot be funded from the institution's own resources.
6. Have the form signed by the President, Special Officer or other authority of the institution and submit it to the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, Puducherry. Keep the acknowledgement and file reference.

How the sanction is made and released

Sanction is by Government order, and the department maintains statements listing each sanction by temple name and address, file number in the CHRI/T.6(GIA) series, purpose and amount. Because the assistance is described as being towards the purchase of building materials, the utilisation expected is on materials for the renovation and special repair rather than on general temple expenses.

The one-time nature of the grant matters. A temple that has already received assistance under this head is treated as having been covered: indeed, the department's Annexure-2 form for the Oru Kala Pooja and running-cost grants specifically asks whether the institution is one "located in economically weaker section areas/Adi-Dravidar colonies for which financial assistance for renovation has already been extended by the Government", and asks for the G.O. number and date. Keep that sanction order safe; it is needed later.

How this differs from the other renovation grant

The department runs two renovation routes and they are easy to mix up.

Both use the same application form, which is why applicants should state clearly in the form which category the institution falls into.

Why an application may be held up

• No plan and estimate attached. The single most common gap. The department cannot fix a grant against an unpriced request.
• Annual income not disclosed. The form asks for income from property and from other sources, and the case for assistance rests on that disclosure.
• No explanation of why own funds are insufficient. This is an express column in the form.
• No renovation committee or Board of Trustees. The form asks about both, and a sanction is easier where the institution has an accountable body to receive and account for the grant.
• Institution not in an EWS area or Adi-Dravidar colony, in which case the general renovation route with the one-third public contribution applies instead.
• Assistance already received under this one-time head.

Where to apply and how to raise a grievance

Applications go to the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, Government of Puducherry. Copies of the 1976 rules regulating the release of financial assistance are, as the department's manual records, obtainable from the Government Central Press, Thattanchavady, Puducherry.

A grievance about a pending application or a sanction should be raised first with the department, and thereafter through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) against the Government of Puducherry.

There is no application fee. No agent or middleman is authorised to charge a temple for obtaining a sanction under this scheme.

How to check your application status

This is an offline scheme with no online tracking portal, so status follow-up is manual and depends on records the applicant institution keeps at its own end.

1. Keep the acknowledgement from submission. When Annexure-1 is handed in at the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, ask for a dated acknowledgement or a receipt number. Without this, there is nothing to quote when following up later.

2. Note the file reference once it is assigned. Sanctioned cases in the department's own statements are tracked under a file number in the CHRI/T.6(GIA) series. If the department has opened a file for the application, ask for this number at the time of submission or on a follow-up visit, it is the department's own internal handle for the case.

3. Follow up in person or in writing with the department. Because there is no SMS alert, helpline, or web dashboard for this scheme, the practical way to check progress is to visit or write to the Department of Hindu Religious Institutions and Wakf, Puducherry, quoting the institution's name, the date of submission, and the acknowledgement or file number.

4. Use an RTI application if the department does not respond. Since the scheme runs under rules the department itself publishes through its RTI manual, an institution that gets no update after a reasonable interval can file a Right to Information request asking for the current status and stage of processing of its Annexure-1 application.

5. Check whether sanction has been issued as a Government Order. Sanctions under this scheme are made by Government order and listed in the department's sanction statements by temple name, address, and amount. An institution can ask the department whether such an order has been issued for its application, and if so, obtain the G.O. number and date, this is the same reference later required on the Annexure-2 form for other grants.

6. Escalate through CPGRAMS if there is no movement. If the department gives no response even to an RTI query or written follow-up, the matter can be raised through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System against the Government of Puducherry, referencing the original date of submission.

There being no application fee and no processing charge, an institution should treat any demand for payment during a status check as improper and report it directly to the department rather than pay it.