Rakhi Chavan Takes Charge as Shree Siddhivinayak Temple Trust Executive Officer
Rakhi Chavan assumed charge as the Executive Officer of the Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust in Mumbai on Thursday, August 13, taking over administrative responsibilities amid heightened scrutiny regarding the management of devotees' donations.
Chavan's appointment follows the state government's decision to replace Veena More-Patil, who had faced allegations connected to the administration of the temple trust. The government has also invited applications from ministerial departments to appoint an Executive Secretary for the trust.
The administrative change comes in the wake of allegations regarding the handling of donation collections. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray had alleged that approximately Rs 18 crore was being siphoned off annually from the temple's donation funds.
Following the allegations, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered an official probe. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also directed Additional Chief Secretary Aseem Gupta to conduct an inquiry into the temple's accounts and donations.
The administrative overhaul follows an incident in March, when Dadar Police arrested a temple employee for allegedly stealing cash from donation boxes. CCTV footage had shown the employee removing currency notes from a donation box located in the priests' room. Police estimated the stolen amount in that case at around Rs 10,000 and investigated potential involvement of others.
Separately, the temple trust announced that its Siddhi entrance will remain temporarily closed to devotees starting August 17 to facilitate ongoing redevelopment and beautification work on the temple premises. Deputy Executive Officer Sandeep Rathod stated that devotees will be permitted to enter through the Riddhi entrance for darshan during this period.
The beautification project was inaugurated on May 25 in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, and Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi. The trust has requested devotees to cooperate with the revised entry arrangements while the work is underway.
