HYDERABAD, INDIA, April 1, 2021 (Hans News Service): Hundreds of Hindu temples in the state are deprived of their rightful income through their properties, thanks to the callousness of the Endowments Department and the State government. According to sources in the Telangana State Endowments Department, the Sitharamaswamy temple at Sitharampur has been deprived of its income from properties for the past several decades. Speaking to The Hans India, a senior official from the Endowments Department said that there are no proper records of 1,148 acres of Sitharampur temple.
“Anyone visiting the Sitharampur temple would not believe that it has such a huge land bank, in which, each acre is pegged at more than US$136,000. Gross negligence of its upkeep is causing huge revenue loss to the temple,” he added. Also, there is no legal provision mandating fixing the rentals at the rates prevailing in the surrounding areas. Thus, while other landlords in the area are getting $55 to $82 per acre per year, the temple is getting a pittance. Political interference was not uncommon in the united AP, forcing the Endowments Department to give temple lands for a petty price. How many temples in Telangana are now facing the same problem even after the formation of a separate State is not known as there is no information available on any public platforms about the property details of temples.
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