Bhubaneswar, Nov 29: The Odisha government has increased financial assistance for more than 4,000 temples governed under the Odisha Hindu Religious Endowments Act, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan informed the Assembly on Saturday.

Responding to a question from Jharsuguda BJP MLA Tankadhar Tripathy, the Minister said that over 18,000 Hindu temples in the state fall under the jurisdiction of the Odisha Hindu Religious Endowment Commission.

Of these, 4,145 temples that applied for support over the past five years have received a total of Rs 26.50 crore to cover rituals, festivals, and other essential religious expenses.

Sharing a year-wise breakup of the sanctioned assistance, Harichandan noted that Rs 5 crore was provided in 2020–21, followed by Rs 4.5 crore each in 2021–22 and 2022–23. The amount increased to Rs 5 crore in 2023–24 under the previous BJD government.

In the current fiscal year 2024–25, under the BJP government, the allocation has risen significantly to Rs 7.5 crore, marking an increase of Rs 2.5 crore compared to the preceding year.