The trust has till date restored 224 heritage structures and work is currently on at 16 sites and are due for completion in the next six months. All restored temples are now functional ones with active worship and local fairs.

For over a decade since inception, the trust carried out its activities on its own with philanthropists and local people pitching in to fund the works that would be undertaken. Post which, in 2001-02, the Karnataka government’s Ministry of Kannada and Culture lauding the work that was being done by the trust came forward to share 40 per cent of the cost of renovation and joined hands to form the first public-private-partnership (PPP) model of a pact for heritage conservation.

Forty per cent of the cost is then borne by the trust and 20 per cent by the temple committees set up by the locals. 169 temples covering over 25 districts have been completed under this scheme until FY 2017-2018. The government, however, has a cap of Rs 80 lakh per annum that is allotted to the trust and a limit of Rs 8-10 lakh per temple, which amounts to an average of 10-12 temples restored under the scheme per year.

The Vision:

It all began with one thought from the Dharmadhikari himself. Visionary, reformer, philanthropist and the Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala for over three decades, Dr Heggade was deeply hurt to see on one hand heritage structures that once enjoyed royal patronage being left to lie in tatters and on the other hand unaesthetic “modern” structures were coming up in various places where once stood temples that were testimonies to the art and architectural excellence of the various dynasties that ruled the region.