TDB to draw up budget for Sabarimala pilgrimage season

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) on Monday decided to draw up a budget for the Sabarimala pilgrimage season.

TDB president K. Jayakumar termed the move a “quality makeover.” He said the Sabarimala pilgrimage season was rarely budgeted. “There are no distinctive heads of account for spending or a revenue audit,” he said. 

Mr. Jayakumar said the TDB aimed at increasing revenue while reducing spending. He said the TDB planned to introduce a new tendering system for vendors. “The current contracting system is opaque. The new system will put down in concrete terms the obligations of the TDB and those contracted by the board, chiefly hoteliers and small shop owners,” he said. 

Mr. Jayakumar said the TDB would make Sabarimala clean, green, litter-free, and pilgrim-friendly. Currently, the TDB contracts workers from Tamil Nadu to keep the pilgrimage area clean. However, their work was restricted to sweeping, he said. 

The TDB would insist that vendors meet their contractual obligations, including food safety, hygiene and health certificates for their employees, chiefly cooks and waiters. 

The TDB would segregate waste at the source. “We will turn biodegradable waste into compost, incinerate litter and separate plastic for processing,” he said. Mr. Jayakumar said more sewage treatment plants were in the offing.