Priests Urge KCR To Restore Service Inam Lands To Them

The Temple Protection Movement today requested Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to intervene and restore the rights of the archakas (temple priests) over the service inam lands in their occupation, and their names in the enjoyer column of the Pattadar pass books.

This would ensure that the Kainkaryams in the temples were not affected, the regular services were rendered, and the periodic utsavams were conducted as before, Convenor of the movement Dr M V Soundararajan said.

In a memorandum submitted to Deputy Chief Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali on Monday, Dr Soundararajan said that the Endowments Department wanted to dispossess the archakas of the lands and then lease them at throwaway prices.

"This will result in the temples losing lands and also the dedicated Archaka families. It is very important that temple lands be governed by endowment laws and not by revenue laws," Soundararajan said, adding that the archakas who had served since long making a livelihood from the service inam lands could not be harassed by being made to run around courts.

He further pointed out that in the recently distributed Pattadar pass books the names of the archakas and the trustees had been deleted contrary to the pattadar certificates and muntaqabs issued to their forefathers, and only the names of the presiding deities were inserted.

"This act by the revenue authorities is nothing but interfering with the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution," he said, adding, "Archakas cannot be deprived of their rights to the schedule lands without the due process of law, and no amount of compensation can equate this change of nomenclature of the lands."

"The inam lands go with the services, and as such there should be a specific condition that the alienations of such lands is void. Grant of patta should be made only in the name of the deity. Further, no provision has been made in the Inams Abolition Act enabling the authorities concerned to insist upon the performance of the service in case ryotwari pattas are sought to be granted in favour of the individuals as incumbents of a particular service, nor is there any safeguard providing a condition that the inam lands even after the grant of ryotwari pattas could be enjoyed only so long as the service is rendered."