As HC frowns, HR and CE scampers to retrieve temple lands

The High Court has been relentless in getting to the bottom of the matter on protecting temple land. But government officials deny allegations of apathy, and claim they have been retrieving temple lands from around the state. The court’s unwavering glare seems to have injected a much needed urgency into the procedure.

Singed by the Madras High Court that took it to task for not doing enough to prevent encroachments and land grab of temple assets, and coming under severe criticism from certain groups on management of temples, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department say they have been retrieving land, at 1,000 acres a year, for the past half a dozen years. 

One of the biggest ‘landlords’ in Tamil Nadu, the department manages temple lands of about 4.78 lakh acres at present. While that is a tremendously vast area on the face of it, the Madras High Court was unimpressed; hearing a writ petition on retrieving land belonging to a temple in Sivaganga, the court noted that it used to be 5.25 lakh acres just five years ago – about 50,000 acres lost in those years. 

Now, based on court direction, the department is preparing information about temple lands across the state, and the extent of encroachment and land grabbing. 

“We are compiling the data on temple land encroachment, which will be completed in a few weeks,” said an official. However, though the court directed the department to upload the details of temple lands on its website, the official said the report on encroachment would be filed before the court, before releasing it to the public. 

Temple land falls under various categories like mutt land, wet and dry lands, and ‘manaavari’ land – where cultivation is not regular but undertaken based on rainfall and suitable crop – managing which is a complex and labyrinthine process. 

During the implementation of Updating Registry Scheme that commenced in 1982, the pattas of some of the Hindu religious institutions were wrongly transferred in the names of private individuals. Besides, there are encroachments even while the patta is in the temple’s name. 

“We are conscious of our duty to protect the properties that the devotees have donated to temples. We 

are working steadfastly to identify the temple lands transferred to individuals and given patta in their names. Once identified, such lands are transferred back to the temple they originally belonged to and a new patta is obtained for them,” said the HR&CE official. 

Two district revenue officers were posted as special officers at Madurai and Coimbatore to rectify the errors that had crept in while updating the registry, he said, adding that the department has been fighting in the courts to retrieve the temple lands, regularise the tenants, or collect rents – for years, sometimes even decades. 

According to the officials, separate revenue courts are functioning with special deputy collectors in order to file cases regarding collection of arrears of land lease revenue, fixation of fair rent for the agricultural lands and eviction of the lessees who refuse to pay lease amount under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Public Trusts (Regulation of Administration of Agricultural Lands) Act, 1961. 

These efforts are bearing fruit, as the department has managed to retrieve approximately 1,000 acres of land a year for the last five-six years, said officials. 

In the last six years, the HR&CE department has retrieved 5,559 acres of lands belonging to 789 temples. These had passed on to the hands of private parties, but now returned to the temples to which they originally belong to. 

The government has also regularised 298.64 acres of land encroached upon by 6,066 persons, who have been living there. No-objection certificates were issued so that they could have basic facilities like drinking water supply and electricity.

The HR&CE department on Monday submitted in the Madras High Court that it has formed a committee to identify all the properties under the control of the department and submit a report.

Making a submission in the court, the advocate representing the department said the details regarding the properties of temples would be submitted to the department before March 21. 

This follows an order by the court that the HR&CE department should submit a report on the temple lands in the state, in a bid to retrieve huge tracts of temple lands that had been either grabbed or under encroachment and to prevent further alienation of 

such immovable properties. 

Justice R Mahadevan ordered that public notices be issued forthwith informing land grabbers across the State to surrender the properties voluntarily to avoid penal action under Section 79B of the HR&CE Act of 1959. Failure to do so should be followed up with prosecution against them. 

The HR&CE Commissioner was directed to prepare and file a report to the Revenue Secretary specifying the details of temple lands for which ‘patta’ had been issued in favour of encroachers/third parties. 

The Secretary, in turn, was ordered to take steps to alter the patta granted in favour of beneficiaries of illegal transfer of land.