Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P.K. Sekarbabu on Wednesday said that colleges and educational institutions will be constructed on land belonging to various temples in the State.
Addressing presspersons after inspecting Sri Srinivasa Perumal temple at Egmore along with Minister for Labour Welfare C. V. Ganesan, Mr. Sekarbabu said these institutions would be constructed to ensure a steady income for the temples.
Commercial complex
He said that land belonging to temples that were being retrieved from encroachers would be put to proper use.
A commercial complex would soon come up on a piece of land measuring 50,000 sq ft on Poonamallee High Road belonging to the Egmore Perumal temple, he added. The Minister instructed officials to remove encroachments quickly. He told them to speed up the construction of a ‘bhajanai matam’ that had been pending for over 15 years in Egmore.
In the past two months, five persons involved in idol thefts had been arrested and six idols brought back, he said.