Karnataka to purchase land for A, B category temples as permanent assets

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Bengaluru: Karnataka Revenue and Muzrai Minister Dr. G. Parameshwara has directed officials to purchase land in the name of ‘A’ and ‘B’ category temples to create permanent assets and strengthen temple development across the state.

Chairing the State Religious Council meeting at Vidhana Soudha, the minister said many temples have sufficient funds and should invest in land that would support future infrastructure projects. He also instructed officials to prepare master plans for major temples to improve facilities for devotees.

Parameshwara reiterated the Chief Minister’s direction to install CCTV cameras on temple hundis to prevent misuse of donations and ordered the work to be completed by the end of August.

The minister cautioned against allowing private organisations to adopt ‘C’ category temples, warning that such arrangements could lead to future disputes over temple properties. Instead, he suggested utilising 10 per cent of grants allocated to ‘A’ category temples for the development of ‘C’ category temples.

He also directed officials to prioritise the survey and clearance of encroached temple lands, setting a three-month deadline to complete the process and transfer the recovered properties to the Muzrai Department.

Additionally, the minister asked officials to invite applications at the earliest for scholarships for children of priests and employees serving in notified temples.

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Why disputes on water flowing waste into sea, asks Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu

Amaravati, Jan 9 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday, asked why should there be disputes between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana over the utilisation of water flowing waste into the sea.

He said that there was no meaning in disputes between the two southern states over utilising the surplus water of Godavari flowing into sea.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a public meeting after distributing ‘pattadar’ passbooks among farmers at the Rayavaram village in East Godavari district.

Referring to Telangana’s objection to Polavaram-Nallamalla Sagar project and the controversy over Rayalaseema lift irrigation project, Chandrababu Naidu remarked that some people want conflicts and not water.

He made it clear that there will be no compromise on the state’s interests, adding that disputes will not benefit anyone.

“If 300 TMC water flowing into the sea is utilised, there will be no drought. If Polavaram is completed, there will be no water problem in the region. We will take water from Polavaram to Visakhapatnam and from there to Vamsadhara,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that if Polavaram project is completed, Telangana can also utilise the surplus water.

Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said that Godavari water diverted to Krishna river through Pattiseema lift irrigation project and the water was supplied to Rayalaseema and as a result the region was emerging as a horticultural hub.

After handing over ‘pattadar’ passbook to a farmer, the Chief Minister asked him to scan the QR code in his passbook through his mobile phone and reach his land with the help of a map.

The farmer said that receiving of pattadar passbook from the Andhra Pradesh government instilled confidence among them.

The Chief Minister said that owning land is a sentiment to the farmers and their families but were disturbed a lot during the previous YSRCP government’s tenure with land disputes and Land Titling Act.

The Telugu Desam Party-led state government abolished the Land Titling Act immediately after coming to power in Andhra Pradesh and was now distributing ‘pattadar’ passbooks with the government emblem, he added.

He said that the land survey was conducted in a transparent manner and now distributing passbook with the slogan of “Mee Bhoomi- Mee Hakku” (Your land, your right).

He added that blockchain technology is being used to prevent tampering of land records in the state.

The Chief Minister said that 22.33 lakh passbooks were ready in 6,688 villages where resurvey was completed.

He asked the MPs, MLAs and other public representatives to own responsibility to distribute the ‘pattadar’ passbooks in a transparent manner.

He alleged that the previous YSRCP government spent Rs 660 crore towards printing the photo of former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on survey stones.

–IANS

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