Bill to bring samadhis under HR & CE department

CHENNAI: MSM Anandan, HR and CE Minister, on Tuesday introduced a Bill in the State Assembly, which would provide for bringing ‘samadhis’, ‘brindhavans’ under the department.The Bill said the samadhis and brindhavans,  established in memory of famous gurus, sadhus or saints were being used as a place of religious worship. These places had acquired the status of religious institution and owned vast property, besides attracting a large number of worshippers.Barring a few, most of the samadhis and brindhavans are not covered under any law.  Therefore, for effective supervision, the government decided to include samadhis, brindhavans and other institutions under the definition of the term ‘religious institution’ as per the HR and CE Endowments Act.The AIADMK during its previous tenure, between 2001 to 2006, introdu-ced a similar Bill in the State Assembly in May, 2003.