Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department S. Ramesh on Wednesday announced the formation of a special committee to verify all properties belonging to the Arupadaiveedu temples dedicated to Lord Murugan. The first such committee will be constituted for Sri Dhandayudhapaniswamy Temple in Palani.

In a press release issued here, the Minister said the committee comprising officials from the HR&CE and Revenue departments would thoroughly verify if any properties had been encroached upon or had been illegally transferred to other persons. It would also look into properties that did not have proper documentation. It would extensively look into land records, various temple registers and documents.

The committee would be headed by the Additional Commissioner of HR&CE, Tiruchi Region. The other members would include the Palani temple's Joint Commissioner, Sub-Collector of Dindigul, Revenue Divisional Officer of Palani, Assistant Director of Land Records and Survey and a special tahsildar for temple lands.

Based on the report submitted by the committee, legal action would be initiated against offenders. Mr. Ramesh said the constitution of the committee was an important step towards safeguarding temple properties. This announcement comes close on the heels of a fraudulent registration of land belonging to Dhandayudhapaniswamy Math in Palani.