The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has observed that properties of religious institutions, temples in particular, must be maintained properly so as to generate more income to spend for their betterment.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department had started implementing the same, but at a snail’s pace, said a Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran (since retired) and B. Pugalendhi.
The courts had time and again observed that temples in Tamil Nadu were not only sources of identification of the ancient culture, but also testimony to the pride and talent in the field of arts, science, sculpture and a conduit for spiritual activities, the judges said.
Taking note of the report submitted by the HR and CE Commissioner, the judges said it appeared that approximately 5.17 lakh acres of immovable properties belonged to temples as per data available. But the extent of available temple properties disclosed was 4.78 lakh acres. This means 39,000 acres of land were in the hands of encroachers. Therefore, the authorities must take steps to maintain temple lands, the judges said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by A. Radhakrishnan. The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities to secure and safeguard properties of Sankara Rameswarar and Vaikunda Pathi Perumal Temple in Thoothukudi.
