Madras High Court: Do only urgent repairs on temples

The First bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana has directed the HR&CE Department to go slow regarding renovation of temples which were having archaeological importance for the time being, till a proper path is laid.

The court made the observation when a suo motu PIL based on media reports came up for hearing. It said “A large number of monuments are stated to be unprotected by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or state governments, without a comprehensive list of their sites, despite the 1972 Unesco World Heritage Convention, having been ratified by India in 1977”.

Earlier, senior advocate P.S.Raman, who was appointed by the Bench as amicus curiae, submitted interim reports regarding the issues.

On perusing the reports, the Bench in its order said “Though a National Commission for the Heritage Sites Bill was introduced in 2009, nothing has come of it.”

The judges said “As for the state of ancient temples in Tamil Nadu, if repairs and renovation works went on ignoring essentials then there is every possibility of more destruction rather than repair and renovation.”

The government did not have experts to carry out the renovation works of ancient structures. Hence, the authorities must consider appointing trained conservation engineering corps.

“Experts from Indian Institute of Technology-Madras also could be involved with the assistance of UNESCO international teachers and persons with relevant expertise and equipment should be roped in. Till such a mechanism is evolved, only urgent repairs should be done on ancient temples in Tamil Nadu,” the court said.