"A petition by Swami Paramatmanda and Swami Dayananda Saraswati has been pending in the Supreme Court of India since 2012, where they demonstrate that though the Ardhanareeshwara temple in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchengode generates more than a crore in annual income, a paltry one lakh is earmarked for its conduct of daily poojas and performance of rituals. Governments of just ten states control more than 1,10,000 Hindu temples, with the Tamil Nadu Temple Trusts itself owning 4,78, 000 acres of temple land and controlling 36,425 temples and 56 mutts.10 This draining away of the temples of their self-generated income; their inability to run their affairs or their schools, cow shelters, orphanages, and other socio-religious institutions; and the constant interference in their administration and management further added to the continued decadence of Hindu temples after independence. With no guarantee of any income, priests in many temples end up extorting the pilgrims, adding further to the sad state of affairs. It was no different with the famed Kashi Vishwanath temple as well."