evidence: The MK Stalin-led DMK government has recovered nearly 4,500 acres of illegally encroached temple land over the past year in Tamil Nadu, and restored them to the respective temples. This action was among its key poll promises ahead of the 2021 Assembly election. [...] The recovery is a daunting and uphill task, acknowledged DMK leaders and government officials. There are numerous obstacles, not the least being the legal tangles around each inch of temple land. The other key issue is the resistance, be it of the encroachers or the tenants of the land. That the DMK has a history of atheism is not helping. [...] "They (DMK) cannot claim it (recovery of 4,500 acres of temple land) as their achievement," said Thirupathy. "They are merely executing a Madras High Court order," he said citing the April 2022 directions issued by Justices R Mahadevan and PD Audikesavalu to recover "every inch of" encroached temple land.