MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the demolition of an ancient mandapam belonging to Kasinathaswamy Temple in Ambasamudram of Tirunelveli district.
A bench of justices J Nisha Banu and S Srimathy passed the interim order on a petition filed by the executive officer of the temple. According to the petition, the Thai Parivettai mandapam, situated near the Papanasam main road, was sought to be demolished by the highways department for the road expansion works on the Ambasamudram-Papanasam overpass under the Integrated Road Development Project 2024-25. The highways department issued a notice to the temple authorities in December 2024, asking them to relocate the mandapam.
The executive officer submitted that the mandapam is an ancient structure with architectural value. The archaeological consultant of the HR&CE department inspected the mandapam and gave an opinion that it is over 100 years old and suggested steps to restore it to its original position. Moreover, there is around 27 feet of space on the northern side of the road, which could be used to expand the road, he added.
Though the said facts were explained to the highways authorities, they issued another notice last month warning that if the mandapam is not removed, they would declare it as an encroachment. The executive officer moved the court challenging this notice but despite the pendency of the case, the highways department passed a demolition order on March 3, the EO stated.
He cited an order passed by the high court in a suo motu case in 2015 that all religious structures which are over 100 years old should be declared as ‘national monuments’ and protected under Ancient Monuments Act, 1958. He sought a similar protection of the Parivettai mandapam.