CHENNAI: HR&CE department on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that it had leased 40 acres belonging to Arthanareeswarar temple at Veercholapuram to Kallakurichi district administration for 30 years to construct a collectorate building. The temple will be compensated with a monthly rent of Rs 1.30 lakh, which shall be revised once every three years.
The department made the submission before the first bench of Acting CJ T Raja and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy when a petition filed by activist Rangarajan Narasimhan came up for hearing.
Directing the registry to tag all the petitions relating to the matter, the bench adjourned further hearing by two weeks.
The department also informed the court that a GO, dated November 28, 2022, was issued for sealing the deal. Several conditions, including the mode of utilisation of the land and charging commercial rent if commercial buildings are constructed, have been laid down as part of the lease agreement.
Objecting to the utilisation of the temple without following due procedures, Rangarajan filed a petition in the high court, which, in 2021, stayed the construction of the new collectorate building for the district, which was carved out of Villupuram in 2019. The litigations have been dragging on.