ENARADA, Bengaluru, April 27, 2015
While the central Government is set to introduce a Gold Monetisation scheme to motivate households and temples to part with the unused Gold, the panel discussion held today in Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commere & Industry in Bengaluru felt the new scheme is tricky.
N.Nityananda, Chairman- Banking , Finance, ADR & Capital markets Committee, FKCCI, Kiran S.Bettadapura, Technocrat, Author & Advocate, Tallam R Dwarakanath Sr. VP, FKCCI, S.S.Naganand, Senior Advocate- High Court of Karnataka & Supreme Court and S.Sampathraman, President, FKCCI pose for a photo during the panel discussion. Photo: WWW.ENARADA.COM
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S.S.Naganand, Senior Advocate- High Court of Karnataka & Supreme Court, pointed out that it may be easier to acquire Gold from temples but individuals may hesitate to part with due to fear of wealth tax and uncertainty of getting it back when there is a need like marriage in the family.
“The Gold monetisation Scheme is tricky as the Individuals may not voluntarily opt for parting their gold for the attraction of interest offered by Government as most of the individuals are having the possession of Ancestral Gold and it is difficult to establish ‘Source of Income’ as they may not have declared in IT returns,” said Naganand. “It is also a big risk for the Government to take the possession of Gold by offering higher interest rates, and also agree to return the entire Gold collected irrespective of the prevailing market rate at that time. If the market rate increases Government suffers.”
The huge stock of Gold in Temples can be put to better use by acquiring them under the new scheme and cautiously utilising it for the betterment of the society , opined Kiran S.Bettadapura, Technocrat, Author & Advocate and another panellist.
“The massive stock of Gold available in temples can be acquired under the new Gold monetisation Scheme but care has to be taken to protect the sentiments of devotees,” said Kiran S.Bettadapura. “The scheme should be modified to use other resources including huge Urban and Semi urban land available in Churches, Mosques and Temples across the country.”
The Gold offerings made by devotees in the temples is nothing but the trust and it should not be misused by Governments, said B.S.Dwarakanath, Hindu Philosphist.
“The God inside the Temple is not a Stone. Those who tried to misuse the Gold in Temples have lost their credibility in the society. But if the Government wants to use the temple Gold in a transparent way and purity in action, they may go ahead for the welfare of the society.”
