The Tamil Nadu government has launched a major exercise to appoint non-hereditary trustees to 8,193 temples administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, calling for applications from eligible candidates across the state.
The move, announced by the HR&CE Department on Tuesday, is aimed at strengthening the administration of temples that do not have hereditary trustees.
The appointments will be made under Section 49(1) of the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, which empowers the government to constitute boards of trustees for temples managed by the department.
According to an official release, detailed notifications containing the list of temples, eligibility conditions, application procedures and prescribed formats have been uploaded on the HR&CE Department’s official website.
The department has urged interested and eligible individuals to carefully go through the guidelines before submitting their applications.
Applicants can complete the process either through the online portal or by downloading the prescribed application form from the website.
The completed application, along with supporting documents, may be submitted physically at the office of the Assistant Commissioner of the HR&CE Department in the respective district or sent through Speed Post.
The department has fixed 5.45 p.m. on August 20 as the last date for submitting applications.
Officials have advised applicants to ensure that all required documents are enclosed and that applications reach the concerned offices before the deadline to avoid rejection.
The latest notification is part of the state government’s wider initiative to fill trustee positions in temples under the HR&CE Department through a phased process.
The department noted that notifications had already been issued for the appointment of non-hereditary trustees to 1,012 temples in an earlier phase. In addition, district-level committees have already been constituted in 14 districts to facilitate the appointment process and oversee the selection of eligible candidates.
These committees are expected to play a key role in scrutinising applications and ensuring that appointments are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the HR&CE Act.
Officials said the phased appointment process is intended to improve temple governance, enhance administrative efficiency and ensure better management of religious institutions functioning under the HR&CE Department.
Once completed, the exercise is expected to provide administrative support to thousands of temples across Tamil Nadu while ensuring that statutory procedures governing trustee appointments are followed uniformly.
--IANS
