The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has directed officials to initiate the removal of registration restrictions on 3,084.95 acres of land associated with four temples in Karur district, after the Karur District Collector recommended that the properties be de-notified from the state’s “Prohibitory Module.”
The directive was issued by HR&CE Commissioner Dr. T.G. Vinay, IAS, through proceedings dated 9 July 2026 addressed to the Joint Commissioner, HR&CE, Tiruppur.
Why The Order Was Issued
According to the communication, the issue pertains to lands that were originally connected to temples before the enactment of the Tamil Nadu Minor Inams (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari) Act, 1963.
The department stated that, following the grant of ryotwari pattas in the names of private individuals, the HR&CE Department had instructed Sub-Registrars to place temple lands under the “Prohibitory Module”, preventing their registration.
However, the department said that certain lands standing in the names of private individuals were also inadvertently included in the prohibition list.
Based on a recommendation made by the Karur District Collector, the HR&CE Department has now decided to initiate the process of removing the registration block on those lands.
The Commissioner noted that the Karur District Collector had recommended lifting the prohibition on the listed lands.
Accordingly, the HR&CE Department has instructed that the Executive Officers of the concerned temples be directed to take steps to remove the registration restriction based on Revenue Department records.
The communication has also been marked to the Karur District Collector.
While the order does not itself determine ownership of the lands, it states that the registration prohibition is being removed on the basis of existing Revenue Department records and the Collector’s recommendation that the lands had been wrongly brought under the Prohibitory Module despite standing in the names of private pattadars.
The order has drawn alarm from temple activist TR Ramesh since the lands belong to temples and that the pattadars are encroachers rather than lawful owners.
Major Act of treachery against Temples by the TVK Government after coming to power.
3085 acres of lands belonging to 4 temples and worth more than ₹25,000 Crores in and around Karur are being handed over to the encroachers by the @tnhrcedept
Shameless ACT of betraying… pic.twitter.com/WnS6TouuqB
— trramesh (@trramesh) July 10, 2026
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