Stronger boundaries
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has reclaimed 163.40 acres of encroached temple land valued at ₹148.91 crore within six months of the current govt assuming office.
The reclaimed land includes 0.03 acres belonging to the Tiruvannamalai temple, 0.59 acres belonging to the Pateeswarar temple in Perur and 1.48 acres belonging to the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameshwaram, according to officials. Alongside the physical retrieval, officials surveyed 17,707.10 acres of temple land and planted 13,233 boundary stones to demarcate and safeguard the properties. To evict encroachers, the department filed 23,815 cases in joint commissioner courts under Section 78 of the Tamil Nadu HR&CE Act, securing final orders in 9,125 cases so far. On the revenue front, the department collected ₹213 crore in Demand-Collection-Balance (DCB) arrears due from immovable temple properties. Join conversation Share your thoughts in the comments Be respectful · TOI community guidelines The department has also regularised land title records, obtaining patta transfers in the names of 15 temples for 34.82 acres of land. Additionally, after appeals to revenue divisional officers (RDOs) to correct errors in computerised chitta records, pattas were secured for another 262 acres in the names of 226 temples.
To streamline rent collection from tenants occupying temple-owned shops and buildings, officials are issuing periodic demand notices, providing instant receipts upon payment, and maintaining updated records of remaining balances. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in Chennai Stay updated with the latest Chennai news. However, officials did not provide further details on the other sites. Possession of the retrieved properties was officially restored to the respective temples. The department is also setting up a system to send periodic SMS alerts to keep tenants promptly informed about their pending rent and arrears. Download the TOI App.