The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has flagged large-scale rent arrears from commercial users of temple-owned lands and buildings in Tamil Nadu. Minister Ramesh said dues in the commercial rent segment alone are estimated at around Rs 250 crore and called for urgent recovery to stabilise revenue.
At a recent HR&CE review meeting chaired by the minister, regional joint commissioners were instructed to take steps to collect the pending amounts quickly. Officials also raised concerns that complaints related to temple land encroachments are not being readily received at local police stations and are accepted only at the Police Commissioner’s office.
In response, the minister advised that such complaints be submitted through an online platform. Officials further noted that among those residing on temple lands, only about 20% pay rent regularly each month, while arrears and penalty amounts remain largely uncollected from others.
They also pointed out that some tenants have converted residential premises for commercial use, leading to commercial rent fixation during inspections—often triggering disputes as residents form associations and protest. Officials said fair rent was earlier fixed based on a 2016 government order, which also provided for a 15% increase every three years, but no fresh rent fixation has been carried out after 2016.
Separately, the department said certain proposed works—such as new marriage halls at the Vittoba temple in Pudukkottai and the Vallakottai Subramaniya Swamy temple in Kanchipuram—cannot be taken up due to lack of funds and space. Following this, the commissioner asked officials to send proposals to drop announcements made in the previous regime that are not feasible to implement, and temple executive officers have begun forwarding details to senior authorities.
