Untold Stories of our temples-5: State govt fiddles while land sharks gobble up God's lands

Hyderabad: Sri Murali Manohar Swamy temple, Kishan Bhag, sets a classic example of the impunity with which the State Endowment Department has functioned for decades.

According to the records, the late Rajkumar Bharathlal, son of the late Raja Triambaklal, founder family member of the temple, endowed several lands and other assets in favour of the temple in 1964. The same were also published in the State official gazette.

However, the department woke only after the State Lokayukta issued notices in case no 1908/2010/B1 directing the District Collectors of Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy and endowment officials to conduct a survey of the temple lands and submit a report by July 27, 2015.

A survey of the temple lands was conducted just about a month ago, on June 9 and 10, 2015, to comply with the directions of the Lokayukta.

The executive officers who report to the assistant commissioner said, “The matter should be treated urgently as the report needs to be submitted to the Lokayukta on encroachment and stop further illegal activities on endowed landed properties of the Sri Murali Manohar Swamy temple, Kishan Bhag, Hyderabad, by executive officer Sri Murali Manohar Swamy temple."

But the shocking fact is that the urgency is felt to save temple lands from further encroachment after a lapse of 51 years by the department, which says the landed properties in the vicinity of the temple are under encroachment by encroachers as per its records.

The department further said that lands were continued in the name of the family members of Late Raja Triambak Lal and others; hence, they urged the Lokayukta to give permission be given for mutatation of the lands in favour of Sri Murali Manohar Swamy temple, alias Kishan Bagh temple, Hyderabad.

They also said, “Title and entitlement be granted in favour of the temple so that, further action can be initiated against the encroachers of the endowed landed property.”

Currently, the issue is that during the 51-long years, the first Endowment Act 17 of 1966 was modified in 1987 in the United Andhra Pradesh, and Act No 24 of 2017 further amends the TSCHRIE Act, 1987. It came into force on June 2, 2014, and applies to the whole of the State of Telangana. Why did the department never think of mutating the temple's lands and giving title to the temple.

The allegations by the devotees are that the endowment department officials were hand in glove and perhaps under pressure from the successive governments, which allowed the encroachments to flourish with impunity.