The state legislature can change or stop these payments if it disagrees with temple management.

Because the amounts are 'charged' on the Consolidated Fund, they are paid automatically each year without needing legislative approval, though changing the Constitution itself could alter the amount.

This Article funds all Hindu temples in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

It applies specifically to the Travancore Devaswom Fund and the Devaswom Fund for temples in the territory transferred to Tamil Nadu in 1956, not to all temples generally.

The Constitution of India

Article 290A

Annual payment to certain Devaswom Funds

A sum of forty-six lakhs and fifty thousand rupees shall be charged on, and paid out of, the Consolidated Fund of the State of Kerala every year to the Travancore Devaswom Fund; and a sum of thirteen lakhs and fifty thousand rupees shall be charged on, and paid out of, the Consolidated Fund of the State of Tamil Nadu every year to the Devaswom Fund established in that State for the maintenance of Hindu temples and shrines in the territories transferred to that State on the 1st day of November, 1956, from the State of Travancore-Cochin.§

Why this exists

When the princely states of Travancore and Cochin merged and later joined the Indian Union, they had long-standing systems of temple administration funded through Devaswom Funds, managed under covenants with the Travancore and Cochin royal families. When Kerala state was formed in 1956 and some temple territories were transferred to Tamil Nadu, the Constitution (through this Article, inserted by the Seventh Constitutional Amendment in 1956) guaranteed continued financial support to these temple funds, honoring commitments made during the integration of princely states into independent India.

Common misconceptions

Myth: The state legislature can change or stop these payments if it disagrees with temple management.
Fact: Because the amounts are 'charged' on the Consolidated Fund, they are paid automatically each year without needing legislative approval, though changing the Constitution itself could alter the amount.
Myth: This Article funds all Hindu temples in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Fact: It applies specifically to the Travancore Devaswom Fund and the Devaswom Fund for temples in the territory transferred to Tamil Nadu in 1956, not to all temples generally.