Proactive HR&CE ensured Rs 1,000 rent, lease revenue after asset recovery spree in last 4 years: Officials

CHENNAI: In the last four years, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department has generated over Rs 1,000 crore through immovable temple properties across the State.

The department collected pending rent and lease amounts from temple properties comprising 23,056 buildings and 76,472 vacant sites and other agricultural lands, amounting to Rs 1,011 crore. Rs 345 crore was collected in the financial year 2024–25. "The income generated from temple properties is used to take up renovation works and create infrastructure for devotees. It also financially supports smaller temples with limited or no revenue," said a senior departmental official.

The officials said it was the outcome of a series of initiatives and a steadfast approach by the authorities since March 2021. The department appointed 36 Tahsildars across the State to oversee and safeguard properties belonging to religious institutions. Their mandate included identifying and collecting pending dues and lease amounts from leaseholders.

Meanwhile, the department revised rent for properties under religious institutions in accordance with Section 34-A of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959. It took a proactive stance in filing cases in revenue courts against violators. Currently, 4,380 cases relating to rent and lease payments are pending in courts across seven districts, including Thanjavur, Tiruchy, Tiruvarur, and Tirunelveli.

The department has also launched an intensive campaign to reclaim temple properties from encroachments. Since May 7, 2021, it has recovered 7,388 acres of agricultural land, 1,530 grounds of vacant plots, 251 grounds of buildings, and 140 grounds of temple tank bunds from 951 religious institutions, and restored them. "The estimated value of the retrieved properties is Rs 7,636 crore," minister PK Sekarbabu told the State Assembly while responding to the debate on demands for grants for the department.

The department has also undertaken measures to regularise tenancy rights for encroachers involved in group encroachments on temple land used for residential purposes. Acting on the direction of Chief Minister MK Stalin, the department has regularised 222 encroachers, converting 5.41 acres of land into tenanted property through this initiative. This would put an end to encroachments and also aid the department in generating revenue from the property by fixing a nominal rent or lease amount for them.