Last week, the Tiruvannamalai government told people living in 22,000 houses that they will have to vacate their homes and move away. These people do not own the land on which their houses are built. The land is controlled by Arunachaleswara Temple. Poor people living and building on unused land is a common problem in India, all over the country.
The clearing of the land will start in the area below Virupaksha Cave. The people who live there were told that they have 15 days to move out. Then the government will start tearing down their houses.
The overall area is from Pachaiamman Koil to Ramana Ashram. Below is an aerial view of the land on the east side of Arunachala. The area affected is potentially every structure to the left of the yellow line, which is the main road that goes just west of the Big Temple.
The population of Tiruvannamalai is about 200,000. It is estimated that the number of people involved might be 80,000, so this is a sizable fraction of the population of the city. And presently the government is offering no help in relocation. I have no idea where all these people will go. Nor do I know what impact it will have with such a big part of the local population moving out of and away from the city.
Here are a few photos of the area to give you an idea of what is involved. These were taken from the third floor of a building next to Arunachaleswara Temple.
Looking north, towards Pachaiamman Koil. I am told that a few of these structures are built on land that is ‘Patta,’ land whose title can be owned by an individual. There are two basic types of land ownership in India – Patta and Poromboke. Patta land is privately owned and can be sold and purchased freely. Poromboke land is government property, which includes all land reserved for communal purpose, like temples. The Tamil Nadu government has been threatening this kind of action since 2005. Now, under the leadership of the current Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Selvi J Jayalalithaa, the government is taking action in this area, removing squatters from temple lands in the state.
Looking west towards Arunachala. Virupaksha Cave is behind these buildings. Skandashram is in the trees near the center of the photo.
This is the area where they will start; have the people leave their homes, then tear the buildings down. I am told that this includes the 200 small temples and ashrams built in this area.
We have Tamil friends who live in this area. Their parents live here, they were born and grew up here. Now they do not have any idea what they will do, and the deadline is just a few days away.
Looking south, towards Ramanashramam.
I have heard that the people will not leave easily, that there will be protests. Who knows what else will happen. I have concern about more than protests. I do not know how long this process will take. It is a big action, so I think it will not be quick.
As I find out more about this, I will post it.
June 20, 2012 at 4:43 pm |
Hi Richard, it’s now mid June, and I am deeply concerned about dear friends who live in that encroachment.I have not been to Tiru for a year, and I wonder if you have any further news? Although my friends and I can understand each other when we are together, the language barrier is too strong over the phone, and the person here at home who would usually help us with translation has been out of town. They have lived there for 3 generations, and have a deep love of Arunachala, I can’t imagine where they would go.
June 20, 2012 at 4:52 pm
There is a new collector running the Tiruvannamalai district. He is not going ahead now with any of the removals. No one knows what he will do later, though. So the story is no one is being forced out of their homes now. But the future is unclear, and this casts a cloud of uncertainty over everyone.
June 6, 2012 at 6:00 pm |
I am impressed by you, Richard, a foreigner, that you take so much interest in the local issues/developments. And you seem to have got the background situation right, too.
As I see it, the encroachments will never be removed. Somebody will grease the palms of some power that is, and get a Stay Order (Ordering Status Quo) from some court, and the matter will go to a quiet sleep. There are just too many people affected, who have been living in these pucca (well-built, brick-and-mortar) structures for so long that it is unimaginable that they will give up easily. And then there are businesses, temple structures, ashrams, etc. that would have to go, and it seems just not possible for all of them to be moved out. If only we had conscentious, clean politicians in the past, this situation would not have arisen.
June 7, 2012 at 4:13 am
I think you may be right, it does just seem like too much, to many houses and families to remove. I have seen some removal of encroachments, but on a much smaller scale. They have been talking about this for many years. So far it is just talk. We will see.
June 7, 2012 at 3:54 pm
But again, like the much needed bypass situation, this does not help the town of Tiruvannamalai. It simply puts off the inevitable clean-up which is necessary; for example all the drainage water etc. running off the enroachments into the already blocked drains around the temple and in Big Street. As Ghariharan intimates, the problem was caused by the DMK who allowed the building to take place on such a grand scale. I also cannot understand why the Temple allowed so much encroachment in the first place. Were they powerless to stop it?
June 7, 2012 at 4:29 pm
If the DMK allowed this, then maybe this is why the AIADMK is now against it. What do you think? What about the Collectors? Are they selected by the state government (in this case, the AIADMK)?
June 2, 2012 at 1:02 pm |
Update: as of June 2, things seem to be at a standstill. There is now a new district collector, the local chief administrator, Dr. Vijay Pingale. No one knows what he will do about the encroachments, and in India these actions are driven by the individuals holding power. So the people in the first target area planned for housing removal near Virupaksha cave at waiting to see what happens next.