Govt renounces $20 billion temple treasure

The government of a southern Indian state asked on Thursday that recently discovered treasure in a local temple worth up to $20 billion should remain with its religious custodians.

Lawyers acting for Kerala state told the Supreme Court that the sacks of gold coins, precious stones and jewellery should stay at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple in the city of Thiruvananthapuram.

"The government feels that all objects should remain in the vaults and the objects are not varied enough to display in a museum," said an affidavit filed at the top court in New Delhi and seen by AFP.

The state stressed that the wealth was donated by individuals to the temple, dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu, and should therefore not be considered state property.

It was built hundreds of years ago by the local king of Travancore and was latterly supervised by trustees appointed to look after the intricate multi-storey structure, which is a popular tourist attraction.

The Supreme Court has been asked to rule on who owns the riches: either the temple trust, the former Travancore royal family or the state.

The head of the former royal family has also renounced any personal claim to the extraordinary discoveries, saying the wealth should be used for social projects like hospitals or schools.

The Supreme Court has sent an investigating team to Thiruvananthapuram and asked for a detailed inventory of the multiple vaults, one of which has not yet been opened.

The chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, initially put the value of the treasure at Rs500 billion ($11.2 billion) while a member of the Supreme Court team, retired judge CS Rajan, said it could be worth twice as much.

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