Kerala bills seek Malabar Devaswom Board power and accounting alignment
Kerala is gearing up to introduce the Malabar Devaswom Bill, which would give the Malabar Devaswom Board more say in how temples are run and limit what temple trustees can do.
The Madras Hindu Religious Endowments (Amendment) Bill, 2026, also aims to sync up temple accounting with the regular financial year, making things a bit smoother behind the scenes.
Most Malabar temples need state support
Right now, most temples in Malabar rely on state support because only 115 of the 1,403 generate income, while the board's powers remain limited under an old law.
This bill hopes to level the playing field between different temple boards and update some outdated rules.
There's also a related proposal to shift temple accounts from a January-December cycle to April-March, so everything lines up better with government funding.