About 8,100 acres of land belonging to 1,055 temples retrieved, says Tamil Nadu govt.

About 8,107.03 acres of land that belonged to 1,055 temples, whose worth was estimated at ₹8,436 crore, were retrieved from private encroachers during the past five years, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department said on Sunday.

Temple lands to the tune of 2.38 lakh acre land were measured using a DGPS rover land survey, and F-line stones have been installed in 1,50,221 locations, an official release said. A sum of ₹212 crore has been earmarked for the renovation fund for 5,000 temples in Adi Dravida and tribal habitations as well as 5,000 temples in rural areas.

The installation of three statues of Lord Murugan, all over 100 feet tall, was underway in three temples in the State, it said. A statue of Lord Murugan, measuring 184 feet tall, was being installed at the Arulmigu Subramaniyaswamy temple at Marudhamalai in Coimbatore district, along with a museum and parking facilities, at a cost of ₹110 crore, an official release said.

While one statue, measuring 180 feet tall, was being installed at the Arulmigu Velayudhaswamy temple at Thindal in Erode district at a cost of ₹30 crore, another measuring 114 feet tall, was being installed at the Arulmigu Subramaniyaswamy temple at Timiri in Ranipet district at ₹6.83 crore, it said.

The release listing out the achievements of the HR&CE Department during the past five years said conservation and renovation of temples more than 1,000 years old, without disturbing their heritage value, was undertaken in 352 temples at a cost of ₹560 crore. Kudamuzhukku was performed in 4,332 temples where it was not performed for over 400 years, it said.

The ‘UNESCO Asia and Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage’ has been announced for the Tukkatchi Arulmigu Aabatsagayeswarar Temple in Kumbakonam, Thanjavur district, for renovating the temple using modern techniques without changing the ancient tradition by preserving the traditional architecture, it said. It also mentioned the construction of a Vallalar International Centre in Vadalur at ₹99.90 crore.