Global Ayyappa Sangamam audit row: Minister V N Vasavan says ₹3.12 cr spent, ₹3.82 cr received as sponsorship, task force set up
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has created a special team to look into problems found in the spending of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam event. This team includes the Devaswom Commissioner, Accounts Officer, and Chief Engineer.
An audit report submitted to the High Court by Special Commissioner R. Jayakrishnan found serious mistakes in how the event accounts were handled.
The report said that the event work was given to the Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction (IIIC) without conducting a tender or competitive bidding process. It also mentioned that there was no clear information about how tax credits related to the event were adjusted in the accounts.
According to the audit:
Details of ₹2 crore received as sponsorship were missing.
₹2 crore taken from the TDB General Fund had not yet been returned.
These findings caused controversy. Later, the Devaswom Board explained that delays in replying to audit questions caused mistakes in the accounts.
Devaswom Minister V. N. Vasavan informed the Assembly on Monday that a task force has now been formed to correct the issues mentioned in the audit report.
The Minister said:
Around ₹3.12 crore was spent on the event.
IIIC submitted a bill of ₹3 crore.
A tax credit of ₹45.76 lakh appears in the Board’s GST records.
In the 2025–26 budget, ₹5 crore was set aside for religious conventions. Since sponsorship money was delayed, this amount was temporarily transferred to a new bank account opened for the Ayyappa Sangamam event at Dhanlaxmi Bank.
Later, on October 17, 2025, ₹3 crore was moved back to the Board’s General Fund after sponsorship money was received. The account currently has ₹2.72 crore, which will also be transferred to the General Fund after finalising the accounts.
The Board received sponsorship funds from:
Dhanlaxmi Bank – ₹2 crore
Kerala Bank – ₹1 crore
Adani Ports Trust – ₹98 lakh
Dhanlaxmi Bank also provided ₹36 lakh towards GST. After GST deductions, the total sponsorship amount received was ₹3.82 crore.
The Minister explained that IIIC was chosen without a tender because there was very little time to organise the event, and preparations for the Sabarimala Mandalam–Makaravilakku festival were happening at the same time.