The land acquisition of Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple at Shabad in Rangareddy district for the Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) is facing problems. The temple has 1148.12 acres of land. The government wants to develop an industrial park and acquire over 800 acres of temple land for this purpose. However, some influential people have already encroached on some of the lands. Despite this, the land acquisition process is continuing due to pressure from the government and TSIIC.
The issue involves the lands around the Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple at Sitarampur in Shabad mandal. The temple has 1148.12 acres of land. The government found that 800 acres of this land have been encroached on by local farmers who registered their names in revenue records under their own names instead of the temple’s name.
The TSIIC and Revenue Department held a ‘Grama Sabha’ in March, but the farmers cultivating the encroached lands opposed it. Some of the occupiers were paid Rs 21 lakh per acre as compensation.
Now, the endowments department has stated that this land acquisition was illegal and done without their notice. They want the compensation to be paid in the name of the temple deity. The TSIIC and endowments department are now in conflict due to the change in leadership in Telangana.
The Rashtriya Vanara Sena has filed a PIL demanding that the encroachers be evicted from the temple lands and that they be restored to the temple. They argue that temples are an important part of Hindu culture and should be protected. Many temples in Telangana are not being properly maintained, and the government should act as a trustee to protect them and the lands donated by devotees.
In recent years, there have been numerous cases of land grabbers targeting endowment lands worth thousands of crores in Telangana. The Rashtriya Vanara Sena has requested an advance hearing on this matter.
