The State government is expecting Union government assistance of ₹100 crore for development works at Sivagiri.
The State, which had submitted a ₹302-crore project, has been asked to submit a revised project for ₹100 crore, Minister for Devaswoms Kadakampally Surendran has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating development works in the precincts of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple here on Thursday.
The works are being launched as part of the Union government’s Swadesh Darshan programme and being implemented by the State government.
Four entrances restored
The project comprises renovation and restoration of the four entrances to the temple by providing proper stormwater drains, road improvement and heritage footpath to the entrances and around Padmatheertham pond, underground cabling works for KSEB, BSNL and other utilities, multi-level parking, solar power generation, CCTV surveillance, tourist information centre, toilet block, restoration of Padmatheertham pond, improvement of water and drainage systems, drinking water facility, signage, setting up of dustbins, and aesthetic improvement of the four entrances.
The work will help make the temple one of the most prominent temples in south India, with thousands of visitors each day, and thereby give a fillip to the city’s financial development, the Minister said.
Mr. Surendran said large-scale encroachments around the temple whose value ran into crores would be evicted in a time-bound manner.
A museum of international standards planned for storing the priceless temple artefacts was under consideration of the Supreme Court. This would help attract both domestic and foreign tourists. Rather than the actual artefacts, their 3D replicas would be put on display, as had been done in many museums around the world, he said.
V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, presided over the function. Mayor V.K. Prasanth was the chief guest.
The temple development work, being undertaken by the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra and the Kerala State Housing Board, will be over by March-April.