Tamil Nadu Government To Carry Out Surveys To Trace Out Lost Temple Lands

The department has deployed teams, each comprising four to 10 surveyors, at major temples in the state to carry out the survey. The work is expected to be completed within a year

Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR & CE) department would carry out an extensive survey using a Differential Global Positioning Systems (DGPS) to trace the lost temple lands in the state. 

The department has already engaged 150 licensed surveyors to carry out the work.

Quoting an official from the department on the condition of anonimity, the report said that there was a startling mismatch of around 50,000 acres of temple land when compared the land record details of 2019-20 with the records of 1988-90 in the state and thousands of land records were missing.

The official said that Chief Minister MK Stalin has directed the HR and CE Minister PK Sekar Babu to act immediately after the information regarding the missing land records had seen light.  

Explaining that Village Administrative Officers (VAOs) would provide field maps and support the HR and CE teams in carrying out the survey, the report said that the department has deployed teams, each comprising four to 10 surveyors, at major temples in the state. 

Speaking to IANS, Sekar Babu said that the Tamil Nadu government would not allow encroachments on temple land and the difference of 50,000 acres in land records of 1988-99 and 2019-20 is big. We have already deployed professional surveyors to conduct surveys, he added. 

The report further said that the survey works are expected to be completed within a year and verification of temple records have commenced at many of the temples in the state.

(With inputs from IANS)