Administration
The overall management and administrative control of the temple complex is vested with an active Board of Trustees, which is assisted by a core working group at the operational level on a day to day basis.
Trust Deed
A well-documented and comprehensive Trust Deed is the basis and guiding principle behind all matters connected with the management and supervision of the temple activities. To start with, a private unregistered Trust Deed in the name and style of Edamanal Sri Kasi Viswanathaswamy Temple Trust was documented on 13th April 2008. The relaunch of the stalled project, completion of the temple, and the performance of Kumbhabhishekam, were all done as per provisions enshrined in this Deed. More details in this regard are provided on the page titled Renaissance of the Project – Third and Final Phase.
After successfully running the temple for nearly a couple of years post Kumbhabhishekam, a need was felt for expanding the scope of activities of the Trust, building in some safeguards against possible attempts for hostile takeover by any third party and securing exemption from income tax. With this end in view, a new Trust Deed in the name and style of Edamanal Sri Kasi Viswanathaswamy Religious and Welfare Trust was drafted and was registered with the Sub Registrar in Chennai on March 27, 2014.
The Preamble of the Trust Deed deals briefly with the genesis and conceptualization of the Temple and scriptural significance of its location. The Operative Portion deals extensively with the following items: aims and objectives of the Trust, activities, Board of Trustees, their appointment and succession plan, meetings of the Board, accounts and accountability, management of the temple funds and assets with specific guidelines on investments thereof, appointment of priest, sub-staff, etc.
The Trust is governed by a Board of Trustees comprising seven members, which includes a Managing Trustee, a Secretary, and a Treasurer.
For the benefit of the people of Edamanal Village and others in nearby places, the registered Trust, taking over the assets and liabilities of the earlier unregistered private Trust, envisages undertaking welfare/charitable services in addition to the core activities of the original Trust, which were confined mainly to a spectrum of religious activities. Post registration of the Trust Deed, the Trust obtained the PAN (Permanent Account Number) from the Income Tax authorities. Being a Not-for-Profit organization under the relevant provisions of Income Tax Act, the Board of Trustees has initiated action to apply to the Income Tax authorities, seeking exemption from payment of tax on the income accruals of the Trust. The Board of Trustees page details more information regarding the Trustees.