The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has informed the Madras High Court of having retrieved from encroachers 5,513.64 acres of temple land; 946.029 grounds of vacant sites, 200.126 grounds of buildings and 146.0945 grounds of temple tanks worth ₹5,132.82 crore from May 7, 2021 (when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government assumed power) to August 20, 2023.
In a counter affidavit filed before a Special Division Bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and P.D. Audikesavalu, the HR&CE Department said legal action had been initiated against 11,658 encroachers. It also said, the 7,398 temples had filed appeals before the competent authority for change of name in the computer Chitta with respect to 41,493.35 acres of lands and that orders had been passed on 1,676 appeal petitions covering 10,545.22 acres.
The counter had been filed, through Special Government Pleader N.R.R. Arun Natarajan, in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by temple activist T.R. Ramesh who accused the HR&CE officials of misfeasance and malfeasance. Denying all his charges, the department said so far property registers of as many as 10,540 temples had been uploaded on its website and that the department was working tirelessly to protect the properties of religious institutions.
