The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has appointed a special task force to fix problems in the audit report about the costs of the Global Ayyappa Sangamam event held at Sabarimala in September 2025. TDB president K Jayakumar told reporters the board had "erred" by not fully answering the auditor's questions, which caused doubts. "Some officials had evidently not done their homework. I am not blaming the auditor. He could only work on the basis of the information provided by the TDB, which was found patchy and lacking. There is an evident lack of clarity," he said. He added that the TDB did not get bills and invoices from some vendors on time, which kept the auditor in the dark. The board does not accept all findings of the audit report. Mr Jayakumar said, "The TDB cannot accept all claims. The bhajana sangam did not perform at the venue, and breakfast was not served for 4000 attendees." The past TDB had capped expenses for the event at ₹4.99 crore. Mr Jayakumar said the board promised the High Court it would not use its own funds to pay for the event. The TDB gave ₹3 crore for the event, which was later returned to its account. Adani's sponsorship of ₹1 crore is confirmed, but some others did not pay, causing a ₹1 crore shortfall to be covered. The task force will be led by the Devaswom Commissioner, the Chief Accounts Officer, and the Chief Engineer. They will check records and match them with vendors’ statements to clear confusion noted by the High Court’s Special Commissioner. The auditor pointed out violations in bidding rules. They flagged the choice of an event management firm, Indian Institute of Infrastructure Construction (IIIC), linked to the CPI(M), and the extra 10% "administrative charge" added by TDB on their contract. The auditor also highlighted a lack of transparency in the sponsorship funding. Mr Jayakumar said the TDB hopes to "clear the air" at the next High Court hearing on February 17.