HR&CE intensifies encroachment drive

Chennai: The state Hindu Religious and Charitable Endow­me­nts (HR&CE) department has intensified its drive against encroachments on temple lands. Apart from those under occupation in the city suburbs, the temple officials across the sta­te have been asked to evict encroachers and retrieve the property.

According to sources, se­nior HR&CE officials are mo­nitoring the pace of wo­rk on regaining the la­n­ds and properties belonging to the department temples throughout Tamil Na­du, on a regular basis. A co­mprehensive data on the extent of properties re­covered since the mission was launched in 2011 is being maintained district-wise. Also, a database on the properties belonging to all the temples un­der the control of the HR&CE department is being created.

On December 3, officials of the Sri Varadharaja Pe­rumal temple, Poona­ma­ll­ee, bulldozed unauthori­sed shops constructed on the land belonging to the temple and recovered pro­perty worth '36 crore. Ab­out five persons who had leased out a portion of the temple building had constructed shops, which ev­e­ntually were razed down, the sources said.

In a similar drive, rece­n­tly, the HR&CE authorities retrieved land, said to be worth Rs25 crore, by evicting huts and some concrete structures built on about 3.05 acres of land belonging to Sri Kariv­a­radharaja Perumal temple in Melayanam­pak­kam.

Also, 1.29 acres belonging to Sri Nellaiyappar Gandhimathi Ambal temple in Tirunelveli, which had been encroached upon by a limestone mining company for several years, was taken into possession again.