R. ARIVANANTHAM
TIRUPATI, MAY 26
In the wake of stiff opposition from various quarters including devotees and spiritual leaders, the Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday directed the TTD Board to reconsider its decision to monitise of over 50 properties in Tamilnadu and elsewhere in the country.
The government asked the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) to re-examine its decision and consult devotees and other religious heads on the decision. Several properties located at mulitple places were donated by devotees to the temple trust. The properties are located at Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Rishikesh in Uttarakhand.
Also Read: http://navjeevanexpress.com/ttd-mulling-to-sell-23-properties-across-tamil-nadu-through-auction/
“Keeping in view the sentiments of devotees, the government hereby directs TTD to re-examine the issue in consultation with different stakeholders like religious elders, opinion makers, section of devotees etc.,” the government said in an order released on Monday.
The TTD was asked to consider if these property could be used for construction of temples, dharma pracharam and any other religious activities.
TTD, since 1974, has been monetizing lands which are hard to manage and splintered across the country. TTD monetizes lands only when there is no possibility of making them spiritually viable and manageable for the organization.@RakeshSinha01
— Y V Subba Reddy (@yvsubbareddymp) May 24, 2020
On Sunday, TTD Chairman Y V Subba Reddy had said that the immovable property included tiny houses and plots measuring between one cent (approximately 400 sq feet) and 5 cents and farming lands between 10 cents and below one acre and that they were non-maintainable and non-revenue generating for TTD. He called it “very petty and unviable.”
He further added that there were 26 and 23 such properties in Andhra and Tamil Nadu, respectively and one in Rishikesh. The property auction was expected to fetch a total of about Rs 24 crore for the TTD Board.
Soon after TTD’s move to sell dormant properties (unviable properties) leaked, netizens expressed their anguish through various platforms of social media on Sunday, which caught attention of devotees and religious heads from around the globe. This has resulted in stalling the TTD move to sell the properties.
