CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Wednesday threatened to ‘abolish’ the Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department of the Tamil Nadu government and even ‘abrogate’ the HR&CE Act.
The court summoned the HR&CE department commissioner to ‘remain personally present’ before the first bench on Thursday.
The department wields administrative control over moveable and immoveable assets of temples, valued at a couple of lakh crores of rupees and several thousand temples — small, medium and big – directly come under it.
At least on paper, these temples own about 4.78 lakh acres of land, 22,500 buildings, besides more than 30,000 vacant sites. Antique idols, temple jewellery and other valuables defy valuation. It controls more than 36,000 temples.
On Wednesday, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sundar made the caustic oral observations, after the HR&CE commissioner filed an affidavit to side step the court’s earlier orders to involve Unesco in conservation and renovation of ancient heritage temples in the state, and, instead, sought to prevent any meaningful role for the Unesco.
As if it was not enough, the official raised a bogey of ‘possible religious backlash’ if people unauthorised by agama rules of the temples concerned enter the sanctum sanctorum of the temples.
Lambasting the official and making it clear that the court would be constrained to even disband the very department and abrogate the legislation from which the department draws its power, the first bench said: “We find, prima facie, the stand of the HR&CE department subversive of our directions and seeks to prevent any meaningful role for Unesco.”
It all started with a PIL filed by a devotee bringing the issue of irreparable damage being caused to ancient heritage temples in the state, in the name of renovation by the HR&CE department. Shocked by the photographs and other proofs showing reckless construction activities right inside some of the oldest and best known temples in the state, the first bench formed a panel, headed by senior advocate P S Raman, to inspect the temples and file reports to court.
After several damning reports were filed, in addition to new PILs concerning specific temples as well as general mishandling of temple heritage by the state department, the bench asked authorities as to why they should not involve an expert body such as the Unesco which had heritage conservation specialists. Initially, it was replied that Unesco did not have a presence in this part of the world.
A PIL-petitioner took the pains of writing to Unesco and bringing it to the notice of the court that one of Unesco’s oldest field offices were in India, and that it had offered its expertise to Tamil Nadu government, which did not respond after initial enthusiasm.
The bench then asked Unesco to depute a team to hold talks and study the ground situation in the state, and directed Tamil Nadu government to make arrangements.
When the authorities said there were several committees appointed by them, the bench during last hearing said it would appoint its own committee to go into the issue. It was in response to this court suggestion, that the HR&CE commissioner filed an affidavit stating that even the commissioner of his nominee were not in a position to enter the sanctum sanctorum as per Section the HR&CE Act. He, therefore, said Unesco need not be involved in the exercise.
