Low-income temples in Tamil Nadu neglected says Madras High Court; seeks status report in two weeks

CHENNAI: The manner in which the low-income temples are being neglected by the authorities revealed a sorry state of affairs, said the Madras High Court, and directed the Tamil Nadu government to file a status report detailing the conditions of all temples classified as 'Divya Desams' and 'Paadal Petra Sthalams'.

A special bench of Justice R Mahadevan and Justice PD Audikesavalu was hearing a petition moved by M Karthikeyan seeking a direction to the government to protect and preserve temples from degradation and allow devotees to be involved in ‘Uzhavarapani’ – the voluntary cleaning of temple premises.

The ‘Thevaram’, along with the ‘Nalayira Divya Prabandam’, are vital for the resurgence and sustenance of culture, tradition and practices associated with the country, noted the bench while issuing several directions to conduct ‘Uzhavarapani’ to protect the temples.

“The temples in Tamil Nadu signify not only the sacredness but a reflection of the culture and tradition, too, as it also demonstrated the skill and techniques possessed by our ancestors in building the temples,” the bench added.

The bench directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department to form a committee in each district to visit all the temples classified as ‘Paadal Petra Sthalams’, ‘Vaippu Sthalams’ and ‘Divya Desams’. The committee should note down the status of the temples, particularly the condition of their premises, ponds, vegetation in the temples, repairs, and maintenance to be carried out in the civil structures, ‘pragarams’, and ‘gopurams’.

The report should be submitted within two weeks, the court directed.

The bench added that it was also clear from the rules that the participation of the public in the cleaning and maintenance activities was permissible and any ‘Uzhavarapani’ group/ voluntary association of persons that is interested in carrying out cleaning activities should apply, and such requests should be considered within seven days.

After obtaining the necessary permission, the ‘Uzhavarapani’ group is entitled to only clean the temple premises, remove the vegetation and clean the ponds maintained by temples, paint the civil structures and gates with the help of the experts, the bench said.

“It is made very clear that they cannot be permitted to repair or renovate any of the inner ‘pragarams’ or do any activity in the sanctum or on the deities or any other idols, paintings or murals,” the judges stressed.

The bench also directed the HR&CE department to ensure that the ‘Uzhavarapani’ group did not remove any stones, broken idols, or structures from the temple premises. After issuing the directions, the bench posted the matter to June 5 for reporting compliance.