Menu Close

Government Committee on Devasthan Lands convenes first official meeting at Mantralaya

Government Devasthan Committee firmly in favour of enacting a ‘Devasthan Land Protection Act’ instead of ‘Devasthan Inam Abolition Act’

Mumbai – To protect the state’s Devasthan Inam lands and provide a permanent solution to long-pending issues, the Government Devasthan Committee has taken a firm stance in favour of bringing a ‘Devasthan Land Protection Act’ into existence rather than ‘Devasthan Inam Abolition Act’. The first important meeting of the ‘Devasthan Inam Land Development Committee’ was held recently at the Mantralaya under the chairmanship of Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Senior officials and trustees of various Devasthans were present at the meeting.

Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule directed that “while drafting the new law, a thorough study of pending cases in the High Court and Supreme Court, as well as old laws, should be conducted so that no legal complexities arise in the future.” 

Key points of the meeting

  1. At the beginning of the meeting, a detailed presentation (PPT) on the proposed law was given on behalf of the Devasthan Committee.
  2. Demands were made to provide the committee with classified information on the land of all Devasthans in the state to prepare the proposed law, classify all complaints and objections related to Inam land, and present the report on the thousands of acres of land scams under the Western Maharashtra Devasthan Management Committee before the committee. Along with this, a demand was made to alter the listing of thousands of acres of ‘Devrai’ (sacred groves) land in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts, where the government’s name has been registered, and re-register these lands under the names of ‘Devrai’ and ‘Devrahati’.
  3. Information was also sought regarding encroachments and illegal entries on thousands of acres of land belonging to various government-controlled temples, as well as disputes related to the Gaothan (village settlement) land of Devasthans.
  4. It was also resolved that the new law should not be limited to land alone, but should protect the broad and comprehensive interests of the Devasthans.
  5. Attention was also drawn to the need for Hindu Devasthan lands to receive special legal protection, similar to Waqf Board lands.
  6. It was decided to hold weekly in-person and online meetings of the committee to prepare a complete framework for the legislation between the December 2026 and March 2027 assembly sessions. 

Prominent dignitaries resent at the meeting

The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department Vikas Kharge, Joint Secretary Kailas Gaikwad, Joint Secretary Smt. Manisha Jaybhaye, Deputy Secretary Sanjay Dharurkar, the Deputy Secretary of the Law and Judiciary Department, the Konkan and Pune Divisional Commissioners, and the District Collectors of Thane and Ahilyanagar.

Additionally, committee member Sandeep Mahajan, Advocate Ashish Sonawane, Sanjeev Deshpande, Anil Sambare, Advocate Rajesh Mudholkar, Jagdish Patil, Advocate Ravindra Kshirsagar, the National Coordinator of the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh Sunil Ghanwat, the National President of the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar, Anup Jaiswal, Vijay Pore, and Keshav Vidwans, a trustee of the Chinchwad Devasthan Trust, were also present.

Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad and temple representatives included in committee formed to revise Devasthan Inam draft

June 20, 2026

  • Government had suspended the proposed Devasthan Inam Abolition Act on 6 June, after strong opposition 

  • Includes representatives from the state’s temple bodies in committee formulating revised version

Mumbai – In response to widespread opposition from various temple bodies, trustees and Hindu organisations across Maharashtra to the ‘Maharashtra Devasthan Inam Abolition (Draft) Act 2026’, the state government suspended the controversial draft on 6 June 2026. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has assured that a revised draft will be prepared, safeguarding the interests of Devasthans. Representatives from the state’s temple bodies have been included in the committee tasked with formulating the revised version. 

ALSO READ | What is Maharashtra’s Devasthan Inam Abolition Draft Act 2026 — and why we need to oppose it?

This committee has been established under the chairmanship of the Additional Chief Secretary of the Revenue, Registration, and Stamp Duty Department. On 17 June, the Revenue Department issued a Government Resolution (GR) on this matter, listing the names of the members included in the committee. 

Crucial role of the ‘Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh’

The Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh was among the first to alert the government to the potential risk of ‘land mafias seizing temple lands’ under the original draft of the ‘Maharashtra Devasthan Inam Abolition Act 2026’. Led by the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh, numerous Devasthans across the state voiced their opposition to the draft. On 26 May 2026, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule held a meeting at Mantralaya with representatives of the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh and various Devasthans. He assured them that a decision in the interest of the Devasthans would be taken. On 6 June 2026, he announced that the draft had been put on hold. 

ALSO READ | Major win for Hindu unity: Maharashtra government suspends the controversial Devasthan Inam Abolition Act

Representatives from Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh, Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad, and other organisations included

This committee includes the National Coordinator of the Maharashtra Mandir Mahasangh, Shri. Sunil Ghanwat; the National President of the Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad, Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar; along with Advocate Ashish Sonawane (Pune), Shri. Sanjeev Deshpande (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Shri. Sandeep Mahajan (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Shri. Anil Sambare (Nagpur), Advocate Rajesh Mudholkar (Thane), Shri. Jagdish Patil (Solapur), Advocate Ravindra Kshirsagar (Pune), Senior Legal Expert S.K. Jain, the Founding President of the Vidarbha Devasthan Samiti, Anup Jaiswal, Shri. Vijay Pore (Satara), and Trustee of the ‘Chinchwad Devasthan Trust’, Shri. Keshav Vidwans.

Read more on Mandir Mahasangh

Latest News