The Madras High Court has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department and the Revenue Department to completely remove all encroachments on lands belonging to the Thiruporur Kandhasamy Temple and the Alavandhar Trust and to file a status report within three weeks.
The direction was issued while hearing a contempt petition filed by advocate B Jagannath, who alleged non-compliance with an earlier court order. In his petition, Jagannath stated that more than 550 acres of temple and trust lands, out of nearly 2,000 acres worth several thousand crores of rupees in Chengalpattu district’s Thiruporur area, had been encroached upon by private individuals. He sought directions to the HR&CE Department and the Tamil Nadu Revenue Department to survey the lands and remove the encroachments.
The High Court had earlier ordered the removal of encroachments by May 2022, but the directions were not implemented, prompting the contempt proceedings.
The matter came up before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MM Srivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, who expressed dissatisfaction over the delay and questioned why no report had been filed despite the contempt case remaining pending for over a year.
Appearing for the HR&CE Department, Special Government Pleader NRR Arun Natarajan informed the court that an inquiry had identified 233 encroachers occupying about 125 acres of the temple and trust lands. He said legal steps were under way to evict them and added that some occupants had come forward to pay rent. He sought three weeks’ time to complete the process and submit a report.
The Bench expressed concern over attempts to regularise encroachments while contempt proceedings were pending and questioned how persons who had unlawfully occupied temple properties for years could be allowed to continue.
Recording its displeasure, the High Court granted three weeks’ time to the HR&CE Department and the Revenue Department to fully clear the encroachments and file a compliance report and adjourned the hearing.
Source: Hindu Tamil
Subscribe to our channels on Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
