Patna, Oct. 17: The income of Mahavir Mandir, Patna, has crossed the Rs 5-crore mark during the 2010-11 fiscal.

“The total income under various heads of the temple was Rs 5,13,36,710, which is the highest declared income in north India after the Vaishno Devi temple. We are thankful to the devotees as well as the state government for supporting us to provide a pristine devotional environment at the temple,” said Kishore Kunal, secretary of Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti.

Out of the total revenue generated in the fiscal 2010-11, Rs 1,30,65,516 from offerings from devotees and Rs 19 lakh were received as donation to the temple. It also received Rs 1.2 crore under the head of various rituals. Moreover, the sale of famous naivedyam (luddoo) fetched Rs 2.25 crore during this period.

Among the various expenditures, Rs 65,99,000 was spent on the maintenance of internal functioning of the temple and Rs 48 lakh was incurred on fees to Religious Trust Board and maintenance of establishment of other institutions. Mahavir Cancer Hospital was given a grant of Rs 1 crore and Mahavir Vaatsalya Hospital received an assistance of Rs 1.87 crore.

The temple has submitted an annual return of Rs 52 crore before the income tax department for 2011-12 fiscal. This amount is excluding the income from Mahavir Mandir Trust, Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Mahavir Vaatsalya Hospital, Mahavir Arogya Sansthan and Mahavir Netrallaya.

During the current fiscal, Mahavir Mandir Trust has started many philanthropic projects.

It is establishing residential school for blind students at Hajipur, a de-addiction centre, which apart from the medical treatment for addicts, would also impart spiritual counselling and yoga practices to them.