TR Ramesh, a well-known temple activist and president of the Indic Collective Trust, has taken to social media to express his outrage over the ongoing construction of shops in front of the RajaGopuram (main tower) of the Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai. According to Ramesh, the construction is a blatant violation of an earlier commitment made by the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to the Madras High Court.
In a post on his social media platform, X, Ramesh stated, “The misfits in @tnhrcedept were going to construct 150 shops in front of the Eastern Raja Gopuram—a place belonging to the temple—where thousands of devotees gather during various festivals. I had brought this to the urgent attention of the Hon’ble Bench hearing temple matters in the Madras High Court, and after a quick and intense hearing, the Hon’ble Judges were pleased to issue directions to stop the construction works in front of the magnificent Raja Gopuram.”
Ramesh emphasised that the HR&CE department had assured the court that the construction would not proceed. “In my PIL filed in this respect, the Commissioner of @tnhrcedept submitted that they have already given an undertaking that the shops will NOT be constructed. The Hon’ble Division Bench recorded this in its order,” he added.
The misfits in @tnhrcedept were going to construct 150 shops in front of the Eastern Raja Gopuram – a place belonging to the temple – and where thousands of devotees gather during various festivals of the temple
I had brought this to the urgent attention of the Hon'ble… pic.twitter.com/klkORPMgO4
— trramesh (@trramesh) August 8, 2024
However, Ramesh has now observed construction activities continuing at the site, which has led him to question the integrity of the HR&CE department’s commitment. He stated, “Now—I see a lot of work going on in the place before the Temple tower—that is supposed to be kept vacant for the purposes of temple festivals and rituals—hundreds of ‘temporary shops’ coming up. The temporary shops could be there for years—the shops are coming up in the place that should be VACANT.”
Ramesh’s concerns are not limited to the ongoing construction. He raised two critical points in his post: “This means two things—
- The Commissioner told a blatant lie before Madras High Court and/or
- There is rampant corruption in allowing these shops to come up again. I will not be simply watching this—I will move the Hon’ble Court for the complete removal of @tnhrcedept from this temple—a temple where they are shamelessly present by #FRAUD from 13.12.1951.”
The activist’s accusations have brought to light a long-standing dispute over the construction of a shopping complex on temple land. On April 30, 2024, Ramesh had previously informed the public that the HR&CE department had committed to the Madras High Court that it would halt the unauthorised construction of 150 shops on the premises of the Arunachaleswarar Temple. The court had issued a directive to stop all construction activities at the temple site immediately.
Ramesh’s legal challenge, which was filed as a miscellaneous petition, questioned the legality of the HR&CE department’s plans to construct a shopping complex directly in front of the historic temple. The proposed project, which would cost Rs. 6.40 crores, was to be funded by the temple’s accumulated fixed deposits and other investments. Ramesh argued that this development violated interim orders passed by the Madras High Court on November 15, 2021, which forbade any construction on the temple premises.
In response to Ramesh’s petition, a bench comprising Chief Justice S. V. Gangapurwala and Justice G. Chandrasekharan noted that the HR&CE department’s counsel had given an undertaking that the construction would not proceed. The court then decided not to pass any further orders on the matter and scheduled the case for a subsequent hearing on July 2, 2024.
The petitioner’s argument is based on the assertion that constructing a commercial complex in front of the ancient Eastern Gopuram would encroach upon the temple’s historic structures. Ramesh has pointed out that this would contravene the guidelines set out in G.O. Ms. No. 171, issued by the Tourism, Culture, and Religious Endowments Department on June 29, 2013. This government order classifies structures over a century old as heritage monuments, which must be preserved without intrusion from modern constructions.
Ramesh further noted that G.O. 171 stipulates that any work undertaken on heritage monuments should adhere to the standards outlined in the Venice Charter, an international guideline for the conservation and restoration of historic buildings and sites. He urged that the construction plans be abandoned in favour of preserving the temple’s cultural and architectural integrity.
