VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana has said they will go ahead in resuming encroached endowments properties as per the new ordinance brought in amending the Endowments Act.
Speaking at the weekly review meeting with the department officials at the State Secretariat on Tuesday, the Deputy Chief Minister said a survey to identify the encroached endowments properties in urban areas, including mutts and choultries, is underway.
“Officials have been asked to submit a report on choultries in 15 days. As per the preliminary report, we have identified that 4.6 lakh acres of land and 1.65 crore square yards of commercial land has been encroached,” he revealed. As per the decision taken in the State Cabinet meeting held in July, the ordinance was issued, amending Sec 83 of the Endowments Act. After the amendment, Sec 84, 85 and 86 cease to exist. “As per the ordinance, one month's notice is given to encroachers to hand over the land and after that, the land is taken over with the help of police. If there is any resistance from encroachers, action can be taken against them like imprisonment for up to 8 years,” he explained.
However, considering that residential structures have also come up on the encroached lands, the Endowments Department is giving encroachers an option to pay rent for the land on a monthly basis and in case of cultivation of crops the lease amount.“Endowments land means, it belongs to the God. Hence, the ownership of endowments lands and properties are always vested with the God,” he asserted. As regards to the orders of the AP HC regarding the management of the temples with an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh, he said they had taken every step to implement the court directives.
“We have identified a total of 23,600 temples in the State with an annual income of less than Rs 5 lakh. The management of these temples (dhoopa, deepa naivedyam) has to be either handed over to the temple priests or hereditary trustees while the property will be managed by the Endowments Department itself. In response to our appeal to the temple priests and hereditary trustees to give an undertaking that they will manage the temples in accordance with Agama Shastra and ensure the proper conduct of daily rituals without any interruption, only 37 applications have been received so far,” he disclosed.On Dharma Pracharam, he said one programme was already organised at Annavaram on August 6 and another in Srikalahasti on August 14.