Bengaluru: The drive to document and protect temple properties has uncovered encroachments on more than 1,035 acres of land, but the government has so far recovered only about 314 acres, prompting Deputy Chief Minister and Revenue Minister G Parameshwara to order a quicker crackdown.
Data reviewed by the revenue and muzrai departments shows only 19,020 of the 45,038 properties belonging to 34,566 government-run temples have been surveyed.
"Encroachment of temple property will not be tolerated," Parameshwara said. "We have instructed officials to take firm action and clear all encroachments without concessions."
Officials say the government identified encroachments on 1,035 acres and 36 guntas of land belonging to 229 temples. However, 721 acres and 16 guntas remain encroached.
Of this, more than 228 acres are tied up in court disputes, while 38 acres are occupied by government agencies for schools, hospitals, community halls and other public facilities. After excluding these categories, action is being initiated to recover 455 acres and 17 guntas.
Efforts are also under way to secure ownership records. The muzrai department identified 45,038 properties, but most are not registered in the names of the respective temples. To address this, the government launched a record correction drive. So far, ownership registration has been completed for 20,730 properties, while gazette notifications have been issued for 3,046 properties. Officials said all identified temple properties will eventually be registered in the names of temples and notified through the gazette.
Figures show the exercise has gathered momentum in recent years. Surveys were completed for only 5,720 properties until 2023. Since then, another 13,300 properties have been surveyed.
Similarly, temple ownership registration stood at 11,527 properties till 2023. Over the past three years, another 9,203 properties secured clear titles, raising the total to 20,730.
Rajender Kumar Kataria, additional secretary, revenue department, said, "We began the exercise of protecting temple properties three years ago. The process includes identifying properties, surveying them and registering them in the name of the respective temple. We hope to complete the survey within the next year."
