GO No.15 aimed at looting temple lands: YSRCP seeks CBI probe

The YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) on Sunday alleged that the coalition government in Andhra Pradesh has diluted long-standing safeguards protecting temple and endowment properties through GO Ms No.15 , and demanded a CBI inquiry into temple land allotments made so far. Addressing a press conference at the party’s central office in Tadepalli, YSRCP state spokesperson Karumuri Venkata Reddy accused the government of executing what he termed a “systematic conspiracy” to facilitate discretionary leasing of valuable religious assets to politically connected entities.

Karumuri said GO Ms No.15 , issued on January 9, 2026 , amends the rules governing the leasing and licensing of immovable properties (other than agricultural lands) under the Endowments Department. He alleged that the revised framework weakens earlier provisions that mandated tender-cum-public auction as the preferred method for leasing temple properties, a mechanism designed to ensure transparency, competition and fair market value. By allowing greater scope for application-based allotments without compulsory auctions, he claimed, the order opens the door to backdoor allocations and corruption.

Highlighting the scale of endowment assets, Karumuri said the Endowments Department controls nearly 4.67 lakh acres of land across the state. Of this, he claimed about 4,244 acres located in major urban centres are prime properties, with estimated values ranging between ₹40 crore and ₹50 crore per acre . Any dilution of competitive leasing norms, he argued, could lead to significant revenue loss for temples and undermine public confidence in the administration of religious institutions.

Questioning the government’s repeated assertions about protecting Sanatana Dharma , Karumuri asked how such claims align with policy decisions that allegedly reduce transparency over temple land management. He also pointed to the silence of Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan , who is part of the cabinet that approved the order, saying the lack of a public explanation has raised serious political and public doubts.

While the coalition government has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, it has maintained that GO No.15 is intended to streamline procedures, remove administrative delays and enable better utilisation of temple properties, without altering ownership or statutory oversight. Supporters of the policy argue that the order does not amount to alienation of temple lands.

However, Karumuri insisted that the real issue lies in implementation. Even if ownership remains unchanged, he said, weakening mandatory auction norms could increase discretion and favouritism. He concluded by challenging Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to order an independent CBI probe into alleged irregularities in temple land allotments over the past 18 months, stating that only such an inquiry would bring clarity to what he described as a serious erosion of safeguards over religious assets.