Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana has said that the State government was committed to protecting the temple’ properties.
Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Mr. Satyanarayana, who is also Deputy Chief Minister, said that there were many cases pending in the courts and judgments were being pronounced in favour of private people.
All cases would be assigned to Assistant Commissioner and a standing committee would be monitoring the cases. The issue pertaining to temple lands that were encroached upon was being looked into seriously. If need be, the government is ready to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court to protect the properties of temples, said the Minister.
Mr. Satyanarayana said that the previous government used to extend the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam Scheme (DDNS) to about 1,600 temples prior to 2019. Now, the scheme is being extended to more than 2,000 temples, he said.
A special action plan was being prepared to organise Dasara festival in temples across the State. The District Endowments Officers would oversee the celebrations. Steps were being taken to ensure that no devotee faced hardships during the Dasara festivities, he said.
The Minister further said that dress code would be implemented for all Endowments Department employees working in temples. The government is committed to the development of Nayee Brahmins. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has given assurance that Nayee Brahmins’ problems would be solved, said the Minister.
Answering a question, the Minister said that the Endowments Department was planning to hand over the aided colleges to the Education Department.
