The Government of Tamil Nadu through its Industrial department,has released an advertisement in Tamil News Paper on 6/05/2021, announcing that it proposes to take over Agastheeswaram temple.This acquisition is for businesses associated with or subsidiaries of Petroleum
Industry.
Following is court’s observation on an earlier occasion on this subject.
Observing that temples in Tamil Nadu are not only a source of identification of the ancient culture but also a testimony of pride and knowledge of the talent in the fields of arts, science and sculpture, the Madras High Court on Wednesday said the state government cannot use temple lands for any purpose other than for holding religious functions.
The court also directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to identify and safeguard all temple lands from encroachers with an officer in charge filing periodical reports.
The issue pertains to the encroachment of lands of the Sakthi Muthamman temple near Neelankarai and the Kottai Mariamman temple in Salem. The court pronounced its orders in the batch of pleas filed by several petitioners over the encroachment of temple land.
Justice R Mahadevan in his order observed that the properties of religious institutions, particularly temples, have to be maintained properly.
Notification asks people to express their objection to acquisition to The District Revenue Officer, Nagappatinam Tamil Nadu within 30 days from the date of the advertisement ( 6/5/2021).That is lodge objection before 5 June 2021.
Or appear in person on 14 June 2021 in person at Nagappatinam Revenue office at 11 am.
As petroleum comes under essential services and comes under Central Government, is the State Government action legally tenable?
The relevant advertisement in Tamil was found in Facebook. Please forward the English version.The advertisement image is posted as Featured image.
The recorded history of Agasthiyanpalli and the regions around it is found from the inscriptions in Agastheeswarar Temple and the Vedaranyeswarar Temple. The inscriptions date from the reign of Rajaraja Chola I (985–1014 CE), Rajendra Chola I (1012–1044 CE) and Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE) indicating various grants to the temple.[1][4]
Agasthiyanpalli continued to be a part of the Chola Empire and the Chola region emerged as a centre of Saivism during the reign of Kulothunga Chola I (1070–1120 CE). After the fall of Cholas during the reign of Rajendra Chola II in the 13th century CE, the erstwhile Chola region was caught under a power struggle between Pandyas and Hoysalas.[6] The royal patronage continued to the temple during the rule of the Nayaks. The inscriptions from the Pandya king Kulacekarn (1268 – 1309) indicates that he was cured off his ailments after praying at the temple. He constituted a festival at Vedaranyeswarar temple to commemorate the event https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agastheeswar_Temple
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