The Hindu : SC grants time to frame scheme for temple town

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 15, 2003

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SC grants time to frame scheme for temple town

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 14. The Supreme Court today granted time to the Union Tourism Ministry and the Tamil Nadu Government to frame a scheme and file their response to the affidavit of the Archaeological Survey of India for declaring the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai as "an ancient monument of national importance."

Even as the Madras High Court had stayed the preliminary notification issued by the ASI of its intention to declare the temple as an ancient monument of national importance, the Centre in November last, through the Director of Monuments, ASI, justified the notification and explained the reasons for issuing it.

The Bench in February had directed the Centre to explain the steps by means of a scheme for declaring Tiruvannamalai as a temple city of national importance as contemplated in the ASI's notification.

Today when the case was taken up by a Bench, comprising Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Justice H.K. Sema, both the Centre and the Tamil Nadu Government sought time for preparing the scheme. Accordingly, the Bench directed listing of the case during the third week of July.

The apex court in August 2001 while admitting appeals filed by the Tamil Nadu Government and the Tiruvannamalai Municipality had stayed the Madras High Court judgment framing a scheme for providing facilities to devotees who visited the temple to perform girivalam.

Explaining the notification, the ASI said that it was proposed to declare Tiruvannamalai town; Arunachaleswarar temple and Giri Pradakshana Pathai as part of the Heritage Town under the provisions of the proposed Tamil Nadu Heritage Conservation Act so that the ancient ambience of the site and the open area around the temple and the Pathai be contained from further encroachments by the locals and also prevent the hill from ill-conceived urban growth.

The Municipality in its reply filed through its counsel, T. Harish Kumar, denied that the hill had been desecrated by illegal constructions at its base and in between the pathway; only a few encroachments existed for over 50 years and this would not in any way affect the sanctity of the temple. However, it was ready to remove the encroachments. The ASI had issued the notification in a hasty manner without the concurrence of the Central Ministry, the Municipality said.

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