The Madras High Court has agreed that it was illegal on the part of former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to have laid the foundation stone in October 2020 for construction of Kallakurichi Collectorate complex on 34.817 acres of land owned by Ardhanareeswarar temple at Veeracholapuram even before the property could be acquired as per law.
However, stating that much water had flown since then and now the government had decided to take the land on lease at a monthly rent of ₹1.6 lakh, to be increased by 15% once in three years, the first Bench of Acting Chief Justice T. Raja and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy permitted the government to go ahead with the construction.
The judges also recorded the submission of Advocate General R. Shunmugasundaram that the Revenue Department would immediately deposit an advance amount of ₹57.64 lakh with the temple management upfront and that the value of the land would be reassessed every 10 years from 2030 in order to refix the monthly rent as per its value.
An undertaking was also given to the court that after taking 34.817 acres on lease, the balance of 5.003 acres of the temple land would be fenced properly and developed for purposes such as putting up a ‘nandavanam’ (flower garden) and ‘goshala’ which would be consistent with the purpose for which the land had been endowed eons ago.
The orders were passed while disposing of writ petitions filed by activists Rangarajan Narasimhan of Srirangam and advocate ‘Elephant’ G. Rajendran against the government’s proposal to construct the Collectorate, district court complex, the office of the Superintendent of Police and other government establishments on the temple land.
Not finding any force in the objections raised by the litigants, the Division Bench, by exercising its parens patriae jurisdiction, held that it would be beneficial for the temple if the land, lying fallow for years together without any takers, was leased out to the Revenue Department for a public purpose by imposing stringent conditions.
The judges recorded the undertaking of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department that the Ardhanareeswarar temple itself would be renovated at cost of ₹2.8 crore and restored to its old glory. It must be the primary duty of the department to not allow such an ancient and grand temple to remain in a dilapidated condition, they said.
The Bench also recorded its appreciation for the two litigants since it was their efforts that had helped in safeguarding the interests of the temple. “We also place on record our appreciation to the learned Advocate General for coming up with better lease rent and taking up the work of renovating the temple immediately,” the Bench said.
