Ayyappa Sangamam: P. S. Prasanth raises doubts about the Devaswom Commissioner’s report; says “only 3 crore has been spent.”
Former Devaswom Board president P. S. Prasanth said that attempts are being made to spread misinformation regarding the expenses related to organizing the Global Ayyappa Sangamam. He clarified that only three crore rupees have been spent so far for organizing the Ayyappa Sangamam, and that this entire amount was received through sponsorship. He shared this response through social media on Friday (13 February).
He also stated that an additional one crore rupees has been received as sponsorship. Three crore rupees had earlier been taken as an advance under the head “religious conferences and lectures” for organizing the event. Once the sponsorship funds were received, that advance amount was fully repaid on 17-10-2025. Apart from this, not even a single rupee has been spent from the Devaswom Board funds so far. According to him, the Devaswom Commissioner’s interim report submitted to the court on 4-11-2025 mentioned the total expense as 4.5 crore rupees plus GST. He added that the basis on which the new report has been prepared needs to be investigated, and that anyone can verify the records.
Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan responded that the Devaswom Board must clarify the expenses of the global Ayyappa Sangamam. He said the matter can be asked to either the former or the current Board president. He added that these are accounts handled by the Devaswom Board and the government cannot interfere in such matters.
Reports say there are several mismatches in the global Ayyappa Sangamam accounts.
Some records show high spending and more payments yet to be made.
However, in the statement submitted last November by the Devaswom Commissioner to the Special Commissioner, the total expense was shown as only 4.99 crore rupees, of which three crore was reported as already paid.
Seeking clarity in the accounts, the Devaswom Board has called an urgent meeting. Representatives of the Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction company under Uralungal, which conducted the program, and the auditing firm Vijayan & Associates, which gave the recommendations, will attend Tuesday’s meeting. Along with clarifying the accounts, the meeting will also examine whether the amount payable to Uralungal can be reduced. There is also suspicion that money may have been misappropriated under the cover of art programs conducted as part of the event. One bill states that eight lakh rupees was paid to Nandagovindam Bhajans for a bhajan program that did not take place. On that day, the devotional music program on stage was actually presented by singer Ishan Dev and his team. The expenses for music programs by Vijay Yesudas and Veeramani are also not recorded. The General Administration Department accounts show that hotel rooms worth 37 lakh rupees were booked for guests, but it is unclear who paid for them. The Devaswom Commissioner’s accounts also show that 24 lakh rupees was paid to the General Administration Department toward room expenses.