Hyderabad: Land sharks are encroaching temple lands, claiming ownership, and asking for records to be updated to this effect in the ongoing land survey.
As per official estimates, there are nearly 12,000 temples in the state which they own about 84,195 acres in all, and encroachers have taken over 14,030 acres of this land.
lands with encroachers
In the ongoing land survey, each revenue village is considered a single unit. The survey-conducting officials hand over copies of the land ownership records to landowners, and the landowners lodge complaints with the Revenue Department in case there are any discrepancies in the records, land-related disputes, or instances of encroachment on their land.
While private landowners are able to verify their land records, there is no one to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the records of temple lands. Land sharks are taking advantage of this situation and claiming ownership of temple lands. The endowment department’s failure to depute officials and staff members to examine the land sites and bring these facts to light makes it even easier for the land sharks to encroach on these lands.
As per the records of the revenue department, the famous Saraswati temple in Basar owns 170 acres of land. In reality, however, over 60 acres have been encro-ached upon. Similarly, there are around 111 temples in old Adilabad district which own 3,563 acres of land in all. But only 1,810 acres remain under the possession of the temples. The government has decided to register all temple lands under the names of the presiding deities after the completion of the land survey. Meanwhile, the endowments department is missing out on the opportunity to expo-se encroachments and protect temple lands.
Endowments Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy says, “This issue has come to our notice. Strict instructions have been given to District Collectors to depute staff to the temple land during the survey. We had previously instructed officials to depute staff for this purpose, but it has come to our notice that those instructions are not being followed.”
