TAMIL NADU, INDIA, April 30, 2004: A proposal by the Union Ministry of Culture and Tourism to have the Government of India implement improvement “For the protection and conservation of the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, dedicated to Lord Siva, as a national heritage monument,” has been rejected by the Tamil Nadu government. The Tamil Nadu government responded with the following statement, “The proposed attempt to highlight the temple and the town as a tourist centre is forgetting the religious aspects involved. The temple is being governed by the provisions of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, which is a complete code not only for the administration and management and preservation of such temples but also for preservation of their properties.”
The Central government’s ministry responded, “The intention of the Archaeological Survey of India is not to disrupt the existing religious practices, rituals, but create an opportunity for its conservation, restoration and preservation through direct investment of the Government of India.”
In rebuttal, the Tamil Nadu government said, “After the renovation of the temple was completed in June 2002 for US$10 million, the temple ‘looks clean and beautiful’ and the Central protection is uncalled for and unwanted in these circumstances.” In conclusion, “The Tiruvannamalai temple wanted the court to reject the scheme as its implementation would lead to discontent among the devotees as the religious practices of the temple as well as the Mutts (monasteries) along the Girivalam path would be affected.”
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