Patna, May 8 (PTI) Amid complaints of irregular practices at several religious places in Bihar, the government has asked circle officers (CO) in all 534 blocks of the state to identify and mark the registered and unregistered temples and mutts in their areas of jurisdiction and upload the information on portals run by the district administration.
A senior official of Bihar State Religious Trust Council (BSRTC), which is run by the law department, said the COs, for now, will have to venture out at least twice a week to collect information on the temples and mutts, with the district magistrate keeping a tab on the exercise.
“The district magistrates, besides ensuring that all requisite information about the temples, mutts and trusts get routinely uploaded, will be sending these details to BSRTC. All temples, mutts and dharamshalas in Bihar will have to be registered with the BSRTC, in accordance with the Bihar Hindu Religious Trusts Act, 1950,” the official stated.
Expressing concern over “unscrupulous land deals being struck by temple keepers”, law minister Pramod Kumar told PTI that the decision has been taken to protect religious properties from unauthorised claims.
“Large-scale irregularities have been detected in various religious places, with priests of temples and mutts selling off and buying immovable assets as owners. This identification exercise has to be completed on a priority basis for protection and maintenance of religious properties,” he underlined.
According to government records, Vaishali has the maximum number of unregistered temples and mutts at 438, with over 440 acres held by them.
Kaimur has 338 such temples, with 831 acres under their control The minister pointed out that the state, by a rough estimate, has “around 2,200 unregistered temples or mutts, owning some 3,200 acres of land”.
“As for the 4,500 registered temples, fences would be erected around them to prevent encroachment of premises,” he added. PTI PKD RMS RMS
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Source: The Print
