Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has decided to amend Hindu Religious And Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Act 1959 after holding an advisory committee meeting on Thursday. 


The department is presently functioning according to the HR&CE Act of 1959.

During the meeting, the HR & CE advisory committee also decided to digitalize books and publish Agamas. 


According to a report on IANS, an advisory committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin based on which they have decided to amend the present HR & CE Act. 


The committee also decided to publish Sthalapuranas, rare books and Agamas in both Tamil and English. The Agamas are principals based on which historical temples are constructed. They have also decided to digitalize rare books and sell them to devotees.


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The department will also conduct religious discourses, spiritual classes etc., under Tamil author and scholar Suki Sivam. Kundragudi Ponnambala Adigalar will also be responsible for the publications. 


It was also decided to organize spiritual discourses and religious discussions for imbibing spirituality and dharma among the youth.


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The department will completely digitize the services available to the devotees in the temples. It will appoint non-hereditary trustees under HR&CE for temples with an annual turnover of more than Rs 10 lakh, as per the decisions made in the meet.


Lastly, the department has decided to fight against encroachers and evict them from encroached temple lands.