CHENNAI, INDIA, December 21, 2016 (Times of India): The Madras high court on Wednesday threatened to abolish the Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department of the Tamil Nadu government and even abrogate the HR&CE Act. The court summoned the HR&CE department commissioner to remain personally present before the first bench on Thursday.
The department wields administrative control over moveable and immoveable assets of temples, valued at a couple of lakh crores of rupees (US$15 billion) and several thousand temples — small, medium and big – directly come under it. At least on paper, these temples own about 478 thousand acres of land, 22,500 buildings, besides more than 30,000 vacant sites. Antique statues, temple jewellery and other valuables defy valuation. It controls more than 36,000 temples.
It all started with a PIL filed by a devotee bringing the issue of irreparable damage being caused to ancient heritage temples in the state, in the name of renovation by the HR&CE department. Shocked by the photographs and other proofs showing reckless construction activities right inside some of the oldest and best known temples in the state, the first bench formed a panel, headed by senior advocate P.S. Raman, to inspect the temples and file reports to court.