(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, no transfer by exchange, sale, mortgage or in any other manner whatsoever, and no lease of any immovable property belonging to, or given or endowed for the purposes of any Hindu Public Religious Institution and Charitable Endowment shall be made unless it is sanctioned by the Commissioner as being necessary or beneficial to the institution and any transfer made in contravention of this sub-section shall be void and inoperative.
(2) In according such sanction, the Commissioner may declare it to be subject to such conditions and directions as he may deem necessary regarding the utilisation of the amount raised by the transaction, the investment thereof and in the case of a mortgage, regarding discharge of the same within a reasonable period.
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH HINDU PUBLIC RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS ACT, 1984 10
(3) A copy of the order of the Commissioner under this section shall be communicated to the trustee and shall be published in such manner as may be prescribed.
(4) The trustee may within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order and any person having interest may, within three months from the date of the publication of the order, prefer an appeal to the Financial Commissioner, who may modify the order or set it aside.
1[12-A. Alienation of gold and silver of Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments.— (1) The offerings of devotees received in the shape of various varieties of gold and silver by the Hindu Public Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments shall be caused to be purified, invested and disposed of after the approval of the Committee constituted under sub-section(2). The gold and silver shall be caused to be purified from the Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation, Mumbai and shall be invested and disposed of in the following manner, namely :— (A) Gold :
(i) 10 per cent gold shall be used for the various activities related to temples;
(ii) 20 per cent gold shall be invested in the “GOLD BOND SCHEME” of the State Bank of India; and
(iii) 2[20] per cent gold shall be kept reserved in the temples.
3[(iv) 50% gold shall be converted into gold biscuits or coins and shall be sold to the devotees and pilgrims on the current prevailing market price.]
(B) Silver :
(i) 20 per cent silver shall be used for the various temple activities;
(ii) 20 per cent silver shall be kept reserved in the temples; and
(iii) 60 per cent silver shall be converted into silver coins and shall be sold to the devotees and pilgrims on the current market price prevailing at that time.
(2) For the purpose of grant of approval for purification of gold and silver and their disposal, a Committee shall be constituted by the Commissioner (Temple) which shall consist of the following members, namely :—
(i) Concerned Commissioner (Temple) — Chairman;
(ii) Official member of the Temple Trust — member;
(iii) Two non-official members, to be — member;
1. Section 12-A. inserted vide Act No. 14 of 2010.
2. Substituted for the figure “70” vide Act No. 31 of 2011
3. Inserted vide Act No. 31 of 2011.
THE HIMACHAL PRADESH HINDU PUBLIC RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS AND CHARITABLE ENDOWMENTS ACT, 1984 11 nominated by the State Government 1[ XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX]]
(vi) Concerned District Language Officer — member; and
(vii) Temple Officer of the temple concerned.
Member- Secretary
(3) The tenure of the non-official members shall be two years from the date of notification, however, a non-official member may be removed by the State Government at any time before expiry of his tenure for the reasons to be recorded in writing.
(4) A non-official member shall be entitled to the travelling allowance and daily allowance for attending the meetings of the Committee in accordance with rules and instructions issued by the State Government from time to time and the same shall be payable from the income of the temple concerned by the Temple Officer.
(5) There shall be a State Level Coordination Committee, to be constituted by the Principal Secretary (LAC)-cum-Chief Commissioner (Temples), to monitor and supervise the functions of the Committee constituted under sub-section (2). The committee shall consist of the following members, namely :-
(i) Chief Commissioner (Temple) — Chairman;
(ii) Director (Language & Culture), Himachal Pradesh — Member; and
(iii) One representative of the Finance Department who shall be in the rank of Joint Secretary or above — Member.]