TIRUCHY: Officials of the HR&CE department recovered a temple land encroached by an individual for over 50 years in Thanjavur on Tuesday (May 12).
According to sources, a piece of land owned by Jagannatha Pillayar temple at Madathu Street near Kumbakonam was encroached by Mariappan of the locality, who operated an eatery there.
When the department approached him to retrieve the land, Mariappan filed a petition with the court claiming that the land belonged to him.
In 2019, the HR&CE officials filed a petition with the court with the due documents. In 2023, the court verified the documents and confirmed that the land belonged to the temple. It said Mariappan had encroached on the land and should hand it over to the State.
However, Mariappan filed an appeal with the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, which also confirmed that he had encroached on the land and asked the HR&CE officials to recover the temple land.
On Tuesday, Assistant Commissioner (HR&CE) Aswini and other officials, along with the police, sealed Mariappan's eatery and retrieved the land.