Voluntary retirement and VRS or commutation. One of these two must be chosen. Such orders have come for non-Hindu employees working in the Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh. There is a lot of discussion about this.
The newly formed Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) here has passed a proposal for non-Hindu staff working in the temple. According to the proposal, non-Hindu employees working in the temple board will have to choose between voluntary retirement or transfer to other government departments in Andhra Pradesh.
According to a media report, the new chairman of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) BR Naidu explained the decision. However, he refused to reveal the actual number of non-Hindu employees working in the temple board. According to information, the new decision of TTD will affect about 300 employees out of 7000 permanent employees of the board. Keep in mind that 14,000 contract employees also work in TTD.
This decision of TTD is based on Article 16(5) of the Constitution. This section of the constitution gives institutions of a religious nature the right to hire members of their religion. Rule 3 of the Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions and Endowments Subordinate Service Act also states that employees of religious institutions must profess Hinduism. In November 2023, the Andhra Pradesh High Court also held that the Trust Board has the power to enforce service conditions.