HR&CE Department saw remarkable growth under Dravidian model government: T.N. CM Stalin

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday said the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has witnessed remarkable growth under the Dravidian model government over the last four years, reflecting both its spiritual commitment and inclusive development.

Speaking at a free mass wedding event organised for 32 couples in Chennai, Mr. Stalin said a total of 2,376 free mass weddings have been conducted through the department in the last four years, including the 576 ceremonies held on Wednesday.

Highlighting some of the department’s achievements, Mr. Stalin said consecration ceremonies had been conducted in 3,177 temples, while 7,655.75 acres of encroached temple lands valued at ₹7,701 crore were retrieved across 997 temples. A total of 2.03 lakh acres of temple land have been surveyed and renovation works are under way at 26,000 temples at an estimated cost of ₹6,000 crore.

He said the State advisory committee has approved repair works for 12,876 temples and a total of ₹425 crore has been allocated for restoring temples that are over 1,000 years old while preserving their heritage. The department has appointed 29 trained persons from all castes as priests and 46 Othuvars, including 12 women.

The corpus fund under the ‘Oru Kaala Poojai’ scheme has been increased to ₹2.5 lakh, benefitting more than 18,000 temples. The government is also providing monthly honorariums to priests and educational scholarships to their children pursuing higher studies, he said.

“The Dravidian model government is working with an inclusive spirit of everything for everyone. However, some individuals who were driven by hate and a divisive agenda are unable to accept our accomplishments. True devotees have appreciated the initiatives undertaken by the government,” he said, adding that his government would continue working for the welfare of devotees.

Ministers K.N. Nehru, Ma. Subramanian, and P.K. Sekarbabu and officials of the HR&CE Department were among others present.