2004 Tsunami: Madras HC Directs HR&CE to Resolve Land Dispute for Displaced Families

The Madras High Court has directed the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department to consider converting families occupying temple land on East Coast Road (ECR), displaced by the 2004 tsunami, into tenants if they apply.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji said “Either identify a land in the nearby locality to relocate the residents or consider leasing out the temple land to the encroachers.”

The court issued these instructions in response to a batch of petitions filed by Sandiran and 37 others challenging the HR&CE commissioner’s dismissal of their petitions. The dismissal was based on the grounds of delay related to an eviction order issued in 2022.

The bench stated that petitioners would be granted time if they agreed to vacate the land. Alternatively, the department may consider converting them into tenants if they apply and are willing to pay rent. The case was adjourned accordingly.

The petitioners, displaced by the tsunami in 2004, had encroached upon land belonging to the Alavanthar Trust, which manages land endowed to a temple spread across three villages. In 2022, the HR&CE department issued eviction notices, prompting the petitioners to challenge these notices with the commissioner, who dismissed their petitions due to delay.

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