No simple statement can capture the complicated and extremely significant effects on temples of the land reforms of the past thirty years. The reforms have focused especially on eliminating as much as possible layered, intermediary ownership of the land, strengthening the rights of actual cultivators and tenants, regulating rents, and scaling down the power and wealth of large landowners. It is important to note at the outset that HRCE officials do not oppose the principles lying behind land reform; they agree that changes are necessary. They go along with the national Hindu Religious Endowments Commission of 1960–62 appointed by Prime Minister Nehru:

For the HRCE the problems posed by land reform are not theoretical but practical: can a more equitable land tenure system be reconciled with the underlying structure of temple economy and finance? HRCE officials recognize that any reform inevitably means change and short-term dislocation, and they are quite willing to have the temples undergo periods of difficult adjustment. But HRCE officials also believe that it is their responsibility to ensure that temples are provided in the long run with alternative, equally stable sources of financial support. Therefore, while they generally have gone along with land reform, HRCE officials believe that they must oppose measures which do not provide temples with adequate compensation.