Devotees seek CM's intervention to recover Nungambakkam temple land

Devotees of the Arulmigu Akilandeswari Sametha Agatheeswarar temple in Nungambakkam have appealed to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to direct the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to recover land belonging to the deity.

Members of the National Hindu Temple Federation alleged that more than 415 grounds of temple land had been illegally alienated over the years by former trustees acting in collusion with certain department officials.

R. Amalraj, an office-bearer of the federation, said the persons who sold the land were not hereditary trustees of the temple. Although this had been established long ago, he said, a particular family continued to sell parcels of land while claiming to be trustees. Pattas have been obtained for temple property spread across Nungambakkam, he added.

Dinesh Kumar of the Bharath Hindu Religious and Charitable Society said an old vegetable market and a school had disappeared over time after their properties were sold off illegally. He noted that the temple is the kula devatha (ancestral family deity) for many families, and that even those who have moved away return for the annual festival.

According to him, many tenants continue to occupy shops or commercial establishments without paying rent, and in several cases no lease agreements exist. Rental arrears are said to run into crores of rupees, and the devotees want steps taken to collect them.

K. Sriram, general secretary of the federation, said appropriate action should be taken against the officials involved in the illegal sales. He said the collusion had been going on for 50 to 60 years and that the matter, though long pending in the department, had never been pursued seriously.

The Madras High Court had in mid-July directed the HR&CE Department to submit a detailed report within six weeks. The court sought the actual extent of land held by the temple as per records; the extent sold under Section 34 of the HR&CE Act, along with the identity of purchasers and dates of sale; the extent sold under Section 9 of the Madras City Tenants' Protection Act, with purchaser details and sale dates; the exact extent of land under encroachment and the action taken to remove it; and the extent of land in the temple's possession as on date.

When the case came up for hearing recently, the department sought more time, which the court granted.