Sri Nidhya Kalyana Perumal Temple Land Under Threat: Trust Fights Encroachment and Illegal Construction

Peerkankaranai, Chennai – The Sri Nidhya Kalyanaperumal Alaya Seva Trust has raised serious concerns over the encroachment and unauthorized construction on the land belonging to Sri Nidhya Kalyana Perumal Temple. The trust, led by Managing Trustee Mr. T. Dhayalan, has urged the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation to halt its construction activities on temple property.

According to Mr. Dhayalan, the temple, located at No.20/36, Kalaignar Nedunchalai, Srinivasa Nagar, Peerkankaranai, Chennai - 600 063, originally occupied 2 Acres and 22 Cents of land. However, due to illegal encroachments, the land has now been reduced to just 90 Cents. Allegedly, government officials have fraudulently renumbered the encroached temple land as Survey No. 69/2 to facilitate the granting of free pattas to unauthorized occupants.

In an effort to reclaim the lost temple land, the trust submitted representations on May 8, 2023, to the District Collector of Chengalpattu, the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) of Tambaram, and the Tahsildar of Tambaram, requesting the cancellation of the unauthorized pattas. When no action was taken, Mr. Dhayalan approached the Madras High Court through W.P. No. 22830 of 2023, which was disposed of on August 3, 2023. Following the court’s direction, an inquiry was conducted by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Tambaram. However, the trust alleges that the complaint was dismissed without considering crucial evidence, as per proceedings Na.Ka.2035/2023/A dated January 11, 2024. A revision petition has since been filed with the District Revenue Officer, Chengalpattu, but remains unheard.

Further aggravating the situation, the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation has begun constructing a "Kariya Mandapam" within a pond located inside the temple’s property. The trust claims that this pond, also renumbered as Survey No. 69/2, belongs to the temple and should not be tampered with. The municipal corporation’s Zone 4 officials have reportedly planned to demolish an existing "Kariya Mandapam" located outside the pond, near the Sarabeswarar Temple, and relocate it within the disputed area. In doing so, several trees within the temple’s land have already been felled.

Mr. Dhayalan strongly asserts that the municipal corporation has no legal authority over the temple land and that constructing a "Kariya Mandapam" within the pond area constitutes a violation of property rights. He has warned that if the unauthorized construction is not stopped immediately, legal action will be initiated to prevent further encroachment and safeguard the temple’s property.

The trust is now calling for urgent intervention from the authorities to protect the temple land and ensure the restoration of its rightful property. The issue highlights ongoing concerns about illegal encroachments and the alleged involvement of officials in facilitating unauthorized land grants.

Further developments in this case remain to be seen as the trust continues its legal battle to reclaim the temple’s land and prevent any further encroachment.