The Tamil Nadu government has introduced the Alienation of Immovable Property of the Religious Institutions Rules, 2025. The new rules guide how the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department deals with selling, exchanging, leasing, or mortgaging temple lands. Special Government Pleader N.R.R. Arun Natarajan told a special court bench that the rules were officially notified by a government order on December 1, 2025. This came during a case involving Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of Engineering, which occupies 9.74 acres of temple land and proposed an exchange with a larger land elsewhere. These Rules replace older rules from 1960. They base land value on either market or guideline values, whichever is higher. For temple lands in urban areas, the sale price is set at 225% of land value. Lands within 30 km of urban areas command 275%, those 30-50 km away at 325%, and lands beyond 50 km at 425% of value. The rules restrict exchanges too: land offered in exchange must have a clear title, be free of disputes and encroachments, and not be in protected zones like wildlife corridors or hill conservation areas. Land locked or reserved as open space cannot be exchanged. When land value differs between temple and exchanged property, the difference must be paid in cash or matched with larger land area. All proposals for sale, exchange, mortgage, or leases above five years must be published in the official gazette and local district gazettes. Public notices inviting objections will be issued, and HR&CE authorities must consider feedback. Notifications will also be displayed visibly in HR&CE offices, temples, local bodies, and newspapers. These new 2025 Rules aim to ensure temple land transactions are transparent, regulated, and fair in Tamil Nadu.