Land sharks grab over 800 acres of temple lands in erstwhile Karimnagar

Protection of temple lands has become difficult following the change of officials as well as lack of clarity about the location of temple lands in villages

Karimnagar: Landgrabbers have not left even temple lands alone in erstwhile Karimnagar district, with Endowment department statistics revealing that 818 acres owned by various temples were encroached here. Official sources said the actual figure could go well above 1500 acres.

Protection of temple lands has become difficult following the change of officials as well as lack of clarity about the location of temple lands in villages. Taking advantage of this, owners of lands located adjacent to the temple lands are allegedly occupying endowment land by erasing boundaries. Later, they are approaching courts claiming ownership of the land. As a result, the Endowment department is losing little by little land every year.

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Recently, the court gave a judgment in favour of the Endowment department in connection with the Anantha Padmanabha Swamy temple land located besides the Rajiv Rahadari near Nustulapur of Thimmapur mandal. The temple had 10.10 acres of land in two survey numbers. Some persons tried to encroach the land, after which local youth foiled their attempt by approaching the court, which instructed the department to fix boundaries of the land.

Meanwhile, 1.14 acres of land belonging Hanuman temple in Huzurabad, Sircilla Venkateshwara Swamy temple (1.15 acres), Peddapalli Goshala (1.13), Peddapalli Sitarama Swamy temple (8.32), Jagtial Rajarajeshwara Swamy temple (2.04), Korutla Venkateswara Swamy (20 guntas), Jagtial Rama Mandir land (19 guntas), Peddapalli Narasimha Swamy (13.20), and two acres of the Kondagattu temple among others have been encroached.

It has become difficult for the Endowment department to reclaim the land with all the occupiers approaching courts. The department is now planning a survey of its lands with the help of the Revenue department.

Temple lands encroached in the erstwhile Karimnagar district (in acres)

District	Temples	Total land	Encroached
Jagtial	118	1,173.34	86.29
Peddapalli	111	1131.09	551.36
Karimnagar	101	713.04	144.30
Sircilla	93	617.18	35.01