Visakhapatnam: With the state government issued orders on regularisation of encroachments on Simhachalam Devasthanam lands, the decades-old problem has not been resolved but in fact multiplied with the concerns raised by Devasthanam founding family member and former Union minister P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju.
In the past five decades, as many as 12,149 structural encroachments have come up in an extent of 420 acres.
Last week, the government issued GO No. 229 to regularise these encroachments free of cost if the occupants are below poverty line, and at 7.5 per cent of 1998 basic land value for others.
Several occupants have paid 70 per cent of the registered land value for regularisation of their houses when the previous TD government issued GO 578 in 1997. As the new GO offers regularisation of the houses at throwaway prices, they may demand the government to return their money with interest.
Mr Ashok Gajapathi Raju said, “The principle of fairness must be followed by the state government. There is no rationale and this is detrimental to the interests of Devasthanam. We have similar encroachment issues at around 104 temples. If the AP Inams Abolition Act is applied to all temple lands, no religion can survive.”
He has written to Deputy Chief Minister K.E. Krishnamurthy on this issue but there has been no response from the government yet.
Meanwhile, noted seer Chinna Jeeyar Swamy has questioned the government’s involvement in temple assets. Calling it an unjustified activity, he said: “Even the Chief Minister has no right to touch temple lands.”
