The Tamil Nadu State Information Commission (TNSIC) has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department to proactively disclose details of movable and immovable properties of all temples under its administration and prominently display the information at HR&CE offices and the respective temples through posters or notice boards.
In its communication dated September 2, the TNSIC directed the department to publish details of temple lands under various categories, including agricultural and commercial properties, residential buildings and vacant land parcels. The information should also include details of endowments executed for the respective temples, lessees, lease periods and rental arrears.
Commissioner VPR Hamparithi said the HR&CE department should also disclose the movable and immovable assets of temples, including bank deposits, bank and PAN details, gold and other material in their possession, as well as details of donors. The commission has given the department 90 days to comply with its directions.
The TNSIC has further directed the HR&CE department to proactively publish the account books and audit details of all temples, government orders (GOs), circulars and other departmental communications under Section 4 of the Right to Information (RTI) Act on its website.
The commission also directed temples to publish their history, sthalapuranam and details of festivals along with their significance.
The directions were issued after the commission disposed of a second appeal filed by M Ravishankar of Mandavelipakkam, who had sought details of properties owned by Maruntheeswarar Temple in Tiruvanmiyur under the RTI Act in 2025.
Ravishankar had approached the commission after he was dissatisfied with the response received from the appellate authority.
The commission noted that at least 2,000 RTI appeals were pending before it, of which at least 90% pertained to assets of various temples in Tamil Nadu.
It is also to be noted that then commissioner Meikanda Devan had earlier ordered that details of all temple endowments be displayed indelibly. In 2021, the HR&CE department issued a circular reinforcing the publication of temple property details on its official website.
Temple activist TR Ramesh welcomed the latest order, describing it as a “well-reasoned order” by State Information Commissioner Elamparithi and saying it finally paves the way for transparency in the HR&CE department.
Ramesh said the HR&CE department had been “notorious and infamous for hiding information and records”, adding that the latest order covers the publication of government orders, departmental orders, circulars, tenders, audit reports, income and expenditure statements, land records and lease records.
He said temple-worshipping Hindus owed a lot to the order, which he said “finally opens the gates of transparency” in the HR & CE dept.
Ramesh also urged the HR&CE Minister to ensure compliance with the commissioner’s directions.
In another post, Ramesh alleged that the HR&CE department had recently told the Madras High Court that audit reports of more than 4,000 temples had been uploaded, claiming that not a single report had actually been uploaded.
He said the Bench had asked the department to put the details in writing and submit a report within a week, questioning whether the department would put its claim in writing.
The issue of transparency in temple assets comes amid continuing cases involving the recovery of ancient idols and artefacts.
In August 2025, the Tamil Nadu Idol Wing recovered five ancient statues from the Guindy office of Chennai businessman Ranveer Shah in an idol-smuggling case. Shah has been described as a repeat offender.
During raids on his properties in 2018, artefacts worth around Rs 100 crore were seized. Another social media user alleged that Chennai-based industrialists Ranvir Shah and Kiran Rao had stolen several hundred crores worth of idols from Hindu temples and claimed idols were still being recovered from their properties.
Earlier, in 2016, then Inspector General of Police AG Pon Manickavel of the Idol Wing recovered nearly 300 stone and bronze idols, wooden artefacts and paintings from antique idol dealer Deenadayalan — around 200 from his residence and another 100 from his godown.
