evidence: How Tamil Nadu is battling temple land encroachers [...] To top it all, the Madras High Court on September 15 directed the HR&CE department to issue a public notification calling upon encroachers of temple properties to voluntarily surrender the lands within a stipulated time failing which criminal proceedings would be initiated against them, including detention under the Goonda Act. The court also ordered the constitution of a special cell to retrieve the encroached temple properties. [...] Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has cautioned that there will be no partisan politics in the clearing of the encroachments. "Action will be initiated after a thorough probe against elected representatives, present or past, and officials. Whoever is at fault will have to face the music," emphasises Sekar Babu. The government’s plan is to start colleges and other educational institutions on these temple lands in order to ensure a steady income for the temples.