Tamil Nadu’s Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department will establish a publication division to bring out books that speak the rich history and architecture of temples in the state and the magnificent Tamil literature.
The department, which has assumed the centre stage after the M K Stalin-led cabinet assumed office in May last year, will also launch a drive to preserve rare palm leaf manuscripts available in temples and mutts across the state.
In his address to the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday, Governor R N Ravi said the publication division will be established with state-of-the-art facilities to publish books on the history and architecture of temples, and the rich Tamil literature, including Bhakti literature. The facility, officials said, will be established very soon and experts will be roped in for publishing of the books.
“Major temples will be encouraged to have bookstalls wherein books about the history of temples, heritage, culture and Tamil language will be displayed,” the Governor said.
The Governor also announced that retired officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Tamil Nadu State Department of Archaeology (TNSDA) have been appointed as archaeological advisors for conservation, preservation and renovation of ancient temples under the control of the department.
Ravi, in his speech, also said the government has issued appointment orders to 58 trained archakars (priests) belonging to different caste denominations. He also said 432.82 acres of temple lands at an estimated value of Rs 1,628.61 crore have been retrieved after clearing encroachments ever since the DMK assumed office last year.
The DMK government, which assumed office in May this year, has taken several steps to infuse greater transparency in the functioning of temples and has begun uploading details of temple lands, buildings, and other records on its website as the first step. As many as 44,121 temples in Tamil Nadu come under the HR&CE department which manages and controls them.
The department is also conducting a drone and DGPS survey of nearly 5 lakh acres of land owned by various temples and trusts that come under it after which 3D images of the land will be published online. HR & CE department is also reviving the Archakar Payirchi Palli (Priest Training Schools), which were lying idle since 2008, to train more people from all communities as priests.
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