Chennai, May 5 (IANS): The Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department will be renovating 80 temples that are 1,000 years old.

The department Minister P.K. Sekar Babu in a statement on Thursday said that the 'state government was not against the Hindus as was being made out from certain corners for political mileage'.

The minister said that six temples in the state will get Rajagopurams (tower gateways) at a cost of Rs 27.70 crore and added that 'Annadhanams' (donating food) will be introduced in 10 more temples.

The statement said that new Annadhanam halls will be constructed in 14 temples at a cost of Rs 11 crore, and also added that the scheme for providing 'prasadam' to all devotees will be extended to five more temples.

The idols retrieved by the Idol theft wing of the Tamil Nadu Police will be displayed at a mega icon display and cultural centre that is coming up at the land of Kapaleeshwar temple, Chennai. The centre, according to the department, will also have a spiritual library, a mini auditorium, a bookstall and a publication centre.

The department in the statement also said that a mega 'goshala' (cow shelter) would be established at Sundararaja Perumal temple in Kovil Pathagai and an amount of Rs 20 crore was earmarked for this project.

In addition to this, the department would also upgrade 121 existing goshalas at a cost of Rs 20 crore.