After temple lands, temple sold off in TN

| | CHENNAI
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After temple lands, temple sold off in TN

Sunday, 09 December 2018 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu is infamous for “vanished temple lands’ across the length and breadth of the State. But the situation in the State has deteriorated to such an extent that a former police officer has approached the Madras High Court with a complaint that a famous temple itself has been sold off by its hereditary trustees. The temple is situated at Nungambakkam, a posh residential locality in Chennai city and right close to the Hindu Religious Charitable Endowment Department, the government agency in charge of temples in the State.  .

The Madras High Court early this year has directed the HRCE  Department to furnish the “whereabouts” of 50,000 acres of prime temple lands which have been  mysteriously disappeared from the documents and records.

The Agastheewarar Temple, a 400-year-old shrine has been sold off  by the temple trustees “without” the concurrence and authorisation of the HR&CE Department, alleges Jebamani Mohanraj, the petitioner.

Mohanraj, a police officer who took voluntary retirement from Government service told The Pioneer that though he had filed a petition in the Madras High Court in 2014, the HRCE Department was “deliberately delaying” the case by not filing its response in spite of the directive by the court.

Mohanraj said that as per a Government order , no one could sell off temple properties. “But this rule has been violated with impunity by the Dravidian parties ruling the State since 1967. About 300 grounds of land owned by the temple has been sold off with the connivance of the HRCE staff,” he charged..

“Land records available with the government state that the property belongs to the temple. As per market value, the land is worth Rs 1800 crore,” said Mohanraj, who had also served the CBI as an investigator.

Mohanraj said though he took up the matter with the HRCE Department, it ignored his petition and that was why he approached the High Court. “The HR&CE Department has been packed with atheists by the DMK as well as the AIADMK and the officials are continuing robbing temples across the State.

“The modus operandi has been planned very intelligently by the trustees and the officials. The government survey records confirm that the land is registered with the temple. But in reality, the land is now owned by private citizens,” he said.

The Madras High Court has adjourned the petition to January 11 since the HRCE officials failed to file the response in the past. “I do not think they would file the affidavit this time too,” said an exasperated Mohanraj.   The report about the temple being sold off comes at a time when Madras High Court is hearing a series of petitions filed by Temple Worshippers Society highlighting the disappearance of temple lands, idols and antique statues and stone pillars from temples. The Madras High Court has extended the services of A G Pon Manickavel, Inspector General of Police (Temple Idol Theft Wing)  who retired from Government service on November 30 for a period of one year to complete the investigation into the missing idols cases.

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