On July 8, the government of the Indian state of Maharashtra ordered a time-bound, statewide audit of land parcels owned by churches and Christian missionary organizations to identify illegal encroachments, disputed land titles, and unauthorized transfers dating back to the British era. The announcement made by Maharashtra’s Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule in the State Legislative Assembly said that the decision to conduct the audit was taken after an alleged 3 billion Indian rupees ($31 million) land fraud by a Christian organization was discovered in the state’s Nashik region.