Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday served notice on the state government to take immediate action to protect Hindu temple lands from encroachment, restore dilapidated shrines, and ensure that temple revenues are channelled back into the institutions they belong to. State BJP president PVN Madhav, who spearheaded the effort, said petitions to this effect were submitted at collectorate offices across the state.
The demand follows extensive ground-level outreach conducted under the party's 'Janata Varadhi' programme, during which Madhav and party workers toured villages and towns and found widespread disquiet among temple trustees and devotees over the fate of religious endowments. "Hindu temples are not merely places of worship. They are living symbols of our civilisation and the faith of crores of people," he said.
Madhav reserved sharp words for the violence that accompanied recent incidents in Akividu, calling the attacks unacceptable and pressing the government to identify and act firmly against those responsible for instigating the trouble.
On the question of temple lands, he cited figures suggesting that of roughly 4.7 lakh acres of endowment lands across the state, as many as 1.5 lakh acres have been encroached upon. He flagged what he described as a disturbing pattern — lands being absorbed into private survey numbers, ostensibly in the name of development, and attempts to transfer urban temple properties to private individuals through long-term lease arrangements. He called on the government to step back from any plan to regularise such encroachments, warning that it would amount to legitimising what was essentially a transfer of religious assets.
The BJP leader pressed for a full-scale survey of all temple lands, strict action against those found to be in unlawful possession, and the restitution of encroached properties to the temples concerned. He also urged that funds generated by temples be ring-fenced for their own upkeep, festival expenses, and the restoration of structures that have fallen into disrepair.
Concluding his remarks, Madhav said the petition drive represented far more than a routine memorandum. "This is the voice of Hindu society," he said, adding that the party would hold the government accountable if its demands were not addressed.
