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The Kerala High Court on Tuesday granted two weeks to the state government to file a counter affidavit in a plea seeking payment of the pending dues of annuity since 2017, for Sri Padmanabha Swamy Temple properties which were vested with the government as per the Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963.

The plea states that after the coming into force of Kerala Land Reforms Act, 1963, Temple lands having an extent of more than 2,00,000 acres were taken over by the State of Kerala, with the assurance of payment of perpetual annuities, which are essential for the upkeep and maintenance of the Temples, which is reflected in Sections 65 and 67 of the Act.

It is further submitted that Section 65 of the Act specifically mandates that against lands vested with Government, where a purchase price has not been paid, the institution shall be entitled to payment of annuity in perpetuity from the Government.

During the formation of the State of Kerala in 1956, the plea says, the Temple owned 12,630 acres of land which were then vested in the government through the Sri Pandaravaka Lands (Enfranchisement and Vesting) Act, 1971 – with the stated objective of agrarian reforms.

But since the lands belonged to the temple, the government owes proper annual compensation for the public institution to survive. This liability of the government was acknowledged when an annuity of INR 58,500 was fixed as yearly compensation for rent lost in 1971, adds the plea.

This amount was not revised since and it is the grievance of the petitioner Shilpa Nair (President of NGO named People For Dharma) that with the COVID crisis, the temple is not in a position to meet even the “nityanidhanam” expenses and had to impose salary cuts on employees since the donations from the public have drastically fallen.

It is alleged that the state government has not taken effective steps to avert such mismanagement of the assets and sources of revenue which have led to extremely challenging times for the staff, administration and the temple authorities.

“The temple was never meant to depend on public donations.  It was endowed with enough properties to survive and thrive on its own. It is due to the lapse from the State of Kerala that the temple is facing such a dire crisis now”, states the plea.

The plea has been filed and argued through Advocates J Sai Deepak & Suvidutt MS, the plea further submits that a representation was given to the CM of Kerala requesting the government to take necessary steps as soon as possible to revise the annual rental compensation to be paid to the temple as per the current market rates.

It was further requested that the rental compensation be revised upwards by 25% every four years to meet the increase in expenses due to inflation and that the Government may ascertain the present status of the Sree Pandaravaka Lands, and explore the option to give back the land which are presently non-agricultural in nature, but no response has been received.

The petitioners had also filed an IA for impleading the Executive Officer of the Padmanabhaswamy temple affairs which has been allowed.