GUNTUR:Temple lands across Bapatla district, long regarded as sacred and inviolable, have steadily been encroached upon by private individuals, with many plots now hosting concrete homes or being cultivated for agriculture. The district adminstration has launched a fresh drive to reclaim these lands and restore them under government control.
A recent review by officials exposed the scale of the illegal occupation. In Bapatla town alone, 6.6 acres belonging to the Bavannarayana Swamy temple and 28 cents tied to the Sri Eastern Choultry have been occupied. In Parchur mandal, nearly 5 acres of land owned by the Addanki Nanchamma Ammavari temple are in private hands. Chirala has also seen encroachments on the Sri Madana Gopala Swamy temple’s property, while in Bhattiprolu, nearly an acre linked to the Vitthaleshwara Swamy temple is under unauthorised use.
Officials from the Endowments Department revealed that many occupants have built permanent houses and have been residing on the land for years without any payment to the State.
The district administration has now issued notices to these residents, asking them to either purchase the land at government-set prices or convert their occupation into formal leases, which would generate revenue for temple maintenance and public welfare. Beyond urban areas, large tracts of temple land have been converted into farmland. In Kollur, 223 acres belonging to the Somashekara Swamy temple are being cultivated illegally. In Bhattiprolu, over 140 acres belonging to the Sri Narendra Swamy and Sri Varadaraja Swamy temples have similarly been lost to private farming.
V Raghunatha Sharma, hereditary trustee of a temple in Bhattiprolu, expressed concern: “These lands were given centuries ago for divine service. When they vanish, we don’t just lose property—we lose heritage. Without government action, temples may not be able to carry out daily rituals.”
Officials from the Revenue, Endowments, and Municipal Departments have been instructed to initiate proceedings under the Record of Rights framework to legally reclaim the encroached lands. Adding institutional weight to the campaign, Bapatla District Collector J Venkata Murali confirmed that both district- and State-level committees have been constituted to protect Endowment and Minority Welfare lands. The district committee, chaired by the Collector, will oversee all recovery actions.