BENGALURU: Taking serious note of temple Hundi thefts reported across various states, as well as instances of cash and ornament misappropriation during counting and accounting within the state’s Muzrai temples, the Revenue Department (Religious Endowments) of the Government of Karnataka has issued a comprehensive and stringent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).

The official circular was dispatched on July 11 to the Commissioner of religious endowments, all Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, Tahsildars, and temple administrators across Karnataka to ensure the absolute protection of movable assets.

The complete details of the newly mandated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) are outlined below:

Installation and Guarding of Hundis: Temple authorities must identify strategic, highly visible spots across the premises to install donation boxes (Hundis) and deploy maximum security around them.
Mandatory Four-Direction CCTV Web Cameras: Recognizing that criminals frequently destroy existing CCTVs and DVRs, or deliberately obscure lenses using carbon soot generated from burning camphor, the government has mandated the installation of CCTV Web Cameras capturing the Hundis from all four directions. The footage must be backed up onto a secure server.
Live Feeds and Control Room Integration: A centralized server will be established at the headquarters of the Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department to monitor all installations. To optimize security, the live feeds from these web cameras must be integrated directly with the offices of the respective Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, and local police stations. A specialized dashboard, mimicking a traffic control room layout, must be set up for continuous tracking, and the Muzrai divisions within DC and AC offices must actively monitor the feeds.
Promoting Digital Transactions and Guarding QR Codes: To protect devotees from pickpocketing in dense crowds and elevate financial transparency, temples are ordered to integrate secure digital payment facilities including UPI, BHIM, and QR codes. These payment logs must be linked directly to the temple’s centralized accounting ledger. QR codes must be placed exclusively adjacent to the physical Hundis. Temple administrators must continuously audit these codes to prevent malicious actors from overlaying fraudulent QR codes.
Hundi Counting Calendars and Schedule Fixation: To guarantee the physical presence of revenue officials, a fixed “Hundi Counting Calendar” must be maintained. High-income temples must schedule counting sessions once a week, while medium-income temples must conduct counting once every two weeks without exception.
Tahsildar Oversight and Immediate Treasury Transfer: All counting operations must be held under the direct supervision of the local Tahsildar. Any gold, silver, or precious items retrieved from the Hundi must be appraised by an expert on the very same day and immediately transferred into the district or sub-treasury under tight security escort.
Deployment of Facial Recognition and Cash Declaration: To rigorously verify the identity of the personnel involved, Facial Recognition systems must be installed at the entrance of the counting halls. Before stepping inside, all participating staff and officers must formally declare the personal cash-in-hand they are carrying.
Comprehensive Timestamped Videography: The entire sequence of events—beginning from the uninstallation/transportation of the moveable Hundi, opening it, distributing the cash piles to individual counters, collecting it back, and finally handing over the sorted currency to bank authorities—must be continuously recorded on video with visible date and time stamps.
Ban on Private Individuals and Public Volunteers: The circular strictly prohibits utilizing volunteers from the general public or private entities for counting donations. Temples must exclusively utilize the services of Home Guards, verified bank staff, or regular government employees.
Strict Accountability and Liability: In the event of any discrepancies, shortages, or theft discovered during or after the counting process, the respective temple executive officers and taluk-level administrators will be held directly and legally responsible.

Inspection Protocols, Monitoring Committees, and Compliance Reports:

Local Police Monitoring: The local Police Inspector or Station House Officer (SHO) is required to periodically audit the live CCTV feeds and security infrastructure of major religious institutions, coordinating fixes alongside temple boards and the district administration.
District-Level Review Committee: A specialized committee chaired by the Deputy Commissioner (DC) must be formed. This committee will include the Superintendent of Police (SP) or Police Commissioner, local Muzrai officials, and the Chief Fire Officer. Meeting at least once a month, the panel will audit fire safety compliance, evaluate CCTV functioning, check local police station live-feed integration, review disaster preparedness, and ensure strict adherence to this circular.
Joint Site Inspections: Local revenue officers, police personnel, and Muzrai department officials must execute joint site visits to temples at least once every 15 days to check operational readiness. For all major Category ‘A’ and Category ‘B’ temples, a high-level team consisting of the DC, SP/Commissioner, and Zilla Panchayat CEO must conduct a joint review once every three months to issue corrective orders on any observed lapses.
Monthly Compliance Reporting: Deputy Commissioners are instructed to prepare a consolidated monthly compliance and inspection report mapping out implementation stages, identified defects, and corrective actions. This report must be submitted to the government through the Muzrai department, with mandatory copies forwarded to the Home Department and the Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG & IGP).

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