Devotees of the Arulmigu Akilandeswari Sametha Agatheeswarar temple in Nungambakkam have urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to instruct officials of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to retrieve lands belonging to the deity.

More than 415 grounds of land belonging to the temple had been illegally alienated gradually over the years by former trustees of the temple, in collusion with certain officials of the department, alleged members of the National Hindu Temple Federation.

“Those who sold the lands were not hereditary trustees of the temple. Though this was proven long ago, a particular family continued to sell parcels of land, claiming to be trustees of the temple. People have obtained pattas for the temple property that lay all around Nungambakkam,” said R. Amalraj, an office-bearer of the federation.

Dinesh Kumar of the Bharath Hindu Religious and Charitable Society said an old vegetable market and a school had vanished over the years, as those properties were sold off illegally.

“This temple is the kula devatha (ancestral family deity) for many families, and though many of them have moved away, they still come back for the annual festival. Many tenants continue to retain their shops or commercial establishments without paying rent. In several cases, there are no lease agreements even. The rental arrears run into crores of rupees. Steps should be taken to collect these arrears,” he said.

K. Sriram, general secretary of the federation, said they wanted appropriate action to be taken against the officials involved in the illegal sale. “The collusion has been happening for the last 50-60 years. It is an old case in the department that nobody has taken up with seriousness so far,” he said.

The Madras High Court had in mid-July ordered the HR&CE Department to furnish a detailed report within six weeks regarding the actual extent of land held by the temple as per records; the extent of land sold under Section 34 of HR&CE Act, the identity of the purchases and the date of sale; the extent of land sold under Section 9 of the Madras City Tenants’ Protection Act, the identity of the purchasers and the date of sale; the exact extent of land currently under encroachment and the actions taken for removal of such encroachments; and the extent of land in possession of the temple as on date.

When the case recently came up for hearing, the department sought time, which the court granted.