Himachal Pradesh is also referred to as Devbhoomi and millions of devotees visit the state every year to explore a variety of sacred sites. Religious tourists donate millions of dollars at these shrines, in addition to copious amounts of gold and silver. Now the donated gold and silver stored in the Himachal temples will be transformed into coins.
Instructions have been provided to the District Commissioners of the corresponding districts to ensure minting of coins from the gold and silver stored in the temples, and to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC).

The government’s action will give the temple management more financial clout.
According to the Himachal Pradesh Language and Culture Department, the state government has requested all 36 of the government-run temples to sign an agreement with MMTC. Following the signing of this MoU, the gold and silver pyrite found in Himachal Pradesh’s temples can be transformed into gold cookies and coins.

It will be offered for sale to visitors to the temple, and the proceeds will go toward the development and building of the temple. The 36 temples that the state government controls, store tonnes of gold and silver, crores of rupees, and enormous bank deposits.

The Chintpurni temple is the wealthiest in the state; it has cash offerings totaling Rs. 1.57 crores, fixed deposits worth Rs. 102 crore, 1.98 quintals of gold, and 71.42 quintals of silver. The Naina Devi temple in Bilaspur comes in second place with Rs. 11.47 crore in cash offerings and Rs. 58.97 crore in fixed deposits.

The total gift offerings made by the pilgrims to the temple include 1.80 quintals of gold and 72.92 quintals of silver. Baba Balak Nath Temple in Hamirpur,has cash in hand totaling Rs 16.66 crore, fixed deposits totaling Rs 28.45 crore, 26.649 kg of gold, and 3.82 quintals of silver.

Despite the fact the government controls 36 temples; a court lawsuit surrounding the Shri Sadadshiv Mahadev Temple in the Sirmaur district is still unresolved. The temple trusts are in charge of these temples’ upkeep and maintenance in addition to building new buildings and improved infrastructure, and the funds raised through offerings are used for that purpose.