In the wake of the alleged theft of donations and offerings at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the Himachal Pradesh Government has stepped up measures to safeguard donations at temples across the state. The government has issued a comprehensive advisory to strengthen security, transparency and accountability in both government-managed and other temples. The six-page guidelines, issued by the Department of Language, Art and Culture, have come into immediate effect.

Under the new norms, all donation boxes must be tamper-proof and assigned unique identification numbers. Donation boxes may be opened and offerings counted only on a date fixed by the competent authority and in the presence of a designated committee. According to the guidelines, the entire counting process must be videographed, while the counting room must remain under CCTV surveillance throughout.

The government has also directed temple authorities to install high-resolution CCTV cameras at entry and exit gates, around the sanctum sanctorum, near donation boxes, in counting rooms, strong rooms and jewellery storage areas. CCTV footage must be preserved for a minimum of 180 days.