Temple properties across the state, including some in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, are embroiled in court cases involving encroachment or being denied fair rent by occupants. According to estimates, about 35,000 acres of temple land is under encroachment by educational institutions, trusts, individuals or companies, while in some cases, tenants of temple properties pay meagre or no rent or sub-let the properties without authorisation.
Dozens of cases are pending in various courts, right from the endowments dep-artment, which deals with some, up to the apex court. Out of the 37,000-odd temples, about 25 have incomes of over Rs 10 crore and own huge properties, donated by devotees. But the skeletal staff of the endowments department is unable to protect the-se properties or make frequent court appearances.
Endowments minister C. Ramachandraiah told this newspaper that the temples under the department owned about 4.16 lakh acres of land across the state besides a great deal of prime property, including some commercial ones. “We are undertaking a survey of all properties. Instructions have been issued to undertake physical verification, compile the data and put them on a website,” the minister said. The department also hope to record the total amount of temple land that has been encroached.