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HYDERABAD, INDIA, July 6, 2003: Because of a public outcry and litigation in the high court, the Andhra Pradesh government has backed off from its demand of US$7,774,202 from Lord Venkateswara shrine at Tirupati, however lesser known temples may not be so lucky. The Naidu government has initiated moves to take away temple lands and distribute them among poorer sections in the name of social justice. According to endowment department sources, around 80 percent of the approximately 27,000 temples have no income other than what they get from the vested lands. And once the lands are taken away, puja in many temples will have to be stopped. The decision to acquire endowment lands was prompted after district collectors reported the unavailability of adequate government land and secondly because of litigation involving available lands. The government had previously acquired temple lands for bus stands and municipal buildings, but has yet to reimburse the endowment department $6,000,000 towards the value of the acquired land.

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