The Madras High Court has directed the Tiruvarur district administration and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department to consider a petition and remove encroachments from 14 temple-owned waterbodies in Thiruthuraipoondi within four months.
The order covers lakes, ponds and a stream connected to two temples in the Tiruvarur district. The waterbodies include Brahma Theertham, Ramar Mada Kulam and Ayyanar Kuttai, along with 11 ponds associated with the Bhava Aushadeeswarar Temple. Three other waterbodies—Azhia Nachiyamman Kuttai, Pappan Odai and Parangu Kuttai—belong to the Mullachi Mariamman Temple.
The proceedings followed a petition filed by advocate R.K. Ayyappan of Thiruvanmiyur. According to the petition, the waterbodies had been illegally encroached upon and were earlier used by residents as sources of drinking water. The petition stated that the encroachments had reached a point where local people could no longer use the waterbodies fully.
The petitioner said representations had been submitted on January 6 of the previous year to the Tiruvarur district collector, the executive engineer of the Water Resources Department and the joint commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department. The petition alleged that no action had followed those representations.
The petition also pointed to government records that classify the affected properties specifically as lakes, ponds and streams. It sought directions to remove the encroachments from these recorded water-resource areas.
A division bench comprising Justices S.M. Subramaniam and R. Rajesh Vivekanathan directed the Tiruvarur collector and other authorities to consider the petitioner’s representation within four months and take steps to remove the encroachments. The order places responsibility on the district administration and the relevant departments to examine the recorded status of the properties and act on the encroachment complaint.
The case brings together the management of temple-owned land, protection of local water resources and the enforcement of government land records. The next formal step identified in the order is the authorities’ consideration of the representation and action within the four-month period.
