AP govt may take over Satya Sai Trust

Mumbai Mirror

Hyderabad, 07 April 2011: With the 82-year-old being critically ill, question as to who will control the Trust’s properties worth thousands of crores becomes pertinent; internal power struggle surfaces in ashram.

 

In Hyderabad The Andhra Pradesh government is considering taking over the assets of ailing spiritual guru Satya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi in Anantapur district.

 

A boy looks at photo frames of Bhagawan Satya Sai Baba in Anantapur district

 

The 86-year-old spiritual guru was admitted to a hospital in Puttaparthi ten days ago following chest and lung congestion. Though doctors on Wednesday said his condition is stable, he is still on ventilator support.

 

If the state goes ahead with its plans, the Satya Sai Central Trust, which owns assets worth thousands of crores of rupees, will come under State control, just as the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams did in 1966, following an enactment of the Charitable and Religious Endowments Act.

 

The state government has deputed senior IAS officer L V Subrahmanyam, currently the principal secretary in the state finance department, to assess the financial matters of the Trust.

 

Chaired by Sri Satya Sai Baba, the Satya Sai Central Trust owns properties across the country and abroad worth thousands of crores and is considered to be the richest after Tirupati.

 

While the government considers a takeover, the internal power struggle in the Trust has escalated in the past week or so. Sources say there are two persons in the forefront to take control of the Trust: former IAS officer K Chakravarthy, who is the secretary of the Trust, and Baba’s nephew Ratnakar.

 

Chakravarthy’s was the Anantapur district collector when the Trust was founded in early 1970s. Ratnakar is one of the trustees.

 

Sources say competition is tough as Chakravarthy enjoys say in the Trust matters, while Ratnakar maintains good rapport with devotees and people of Puttaparthi.

 

The Trust owns almost all of Puttaparthi, including an airport and a railway station. The town’s central attraction is the Prasanthi Nilayam, Satya Sai Baba’s ashram and residence.

 

The town also has a super-specialty hospital, a stadium, an indoor stadium, educational institutions and a music college.

 

The Trust also owns a hospital at White Field in Bangalore. The Trust has 1,200 centres across the globe.

 

 

The Trust runs drinking water projects not only in Anantapur district and parts of Rayalaseema region, but also in Mahbubnagar and Medak districts in Telangana region.

 

Though the Trust used to accept donations in kind till the late 90s, since 2000 it started accepting only cash.

 

The Andhra Pradesh Charitable and Hindu Religious Institutions Act of 1987 enables the government take over any religious institution.

 

The government has no idea about the cumulative value of the assets owned by the Satya Sai Central Trust.

 

Sources told this correspondent that enumeration of the assets will have to be carried out now. Not to leave any scope for controversy, the government may seek judicial assistance for a transparent enumeration.

 

“Assets of the Trust had never been valued and most of the details have been kept undisclosed. The audit reports also need to be verified,” the source said.

 

 

Sathya Sai Baba critical but stable

 

 

Puttaparthi (Andhra Pradesh), 07 April 2011, (IANS): Spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba’s condition continues to be critical but stable, doctors attending on him said Thursday.

 

According to the medical bulletin issued by Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital, his condition remained unchanged.

 

 

Hospital director A.N. Safaya said Sathya Sai Baba continued to be on ventilator to help in respiratory function. His pulse rate and blood pressure level are normal.

 

The duration of dialysis has also been reduced, indicating improvement in his kidney function. He continued to be on continuous renal replacement therapy for the last four days.

 

The doctors had Wednesday said 85-year-old Sathya Sai Baba was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction but was responding to the treatment.

 

Satyha Sai Baba, who has millions of devotees both in India and abroad, was admitted to the hospital March 28 with pneumonia and breathing problems. The doctors implanted a pacemaker to regulate his heart beat.