Demand for take over of 12.66 acre govt land as per the HC order

The Erode Sri Periyamariamman Temple Land Recovery Movement on Sunday felicitated High Court advocates N.P. Sengottuvel and K.S. Jayaganesh in Erode for getting a favourable verdict from a High Court bench that 12.66 acres of land worth several crores in Erode city belongs to the government.
The land has been under the occupation of a private organisation for the past several decades.
Modakkurichi MLA Dr. C. Saraswathi, Movement leader E.R.M. Chandrasekhar, Fatia president V.K. Rajamanickam, Mudaliar Educational Trust vice-president Ravichandran, V.V. National president Senthil Murugan, movement executive president Kailasapathy, legal advisor N.P. Palaniswami and Hindu Munnani state vice-president Shanmugasundaram expressed their appreciation.
In his keynote address, Chandrasekhar recalled the various struggles of the movement since 1994 and the efforts of the then movement leader late Poosappan and late Dr. Balasubramaniam in collecting documents related to the land located behind the temple. When a private organization approached the Survey Department to obtain the patta for the land, the movement opposed it. Later, the department investigated the matter and ordered Sampath, Special Tahsildar, Erode Survey, to examine the matter. He confirmed that the documents held by the organization that the then British Raj had sold the land at auction to it were fake.
Therefore, the department rejected the claim of the organization. It ordered that the land belonged to the government. The organization filed a petition in the High Court against this order. The court dismissed the petition. At the same time, the movement joined the government in the case. On appeal, a 2-judge Division Bench upheld the order of the single judge on 20.11.2025.
Both the judgments directed the government to take possession of the land and lay the 80 feet road as already planned on the land connecting Meenakshi Sundaram Road and Erode Railway Station and to use the remaining land for public welfare. He appealed to the government to immediately implement the court order and provide a portion of the land for the grand reconstruction of the temple as per the wishes of the ancient temple devotees.
He cited the letter of the Survey and Settlement Commissioner’s Office dated 30.3.2011, the letter of the Erode Survey and Settlement Special Tahsildar dated 10.7.2012, the letter of the Director of Survey and Settlement dated 10.5.2017, 2011 & 2017, the writ petition in the High Court and the appeal in 2023. These helped in getting a historic verdict. He thanked the relevant authorities and supporters of the movement for helping the case.
He added that if the government does not take steps to build a road to reduce traffic congestion in the city, the devotees will soon start a “land entry” protest.