Telangana: Wakf Board may lose other land, if action is not taken

Hyderabad: What does the Wakf Board do when its properties are encroached? The board issues notices under Section 54 (1) of the Wakf Act, 1995. 

Subsequently, the Board will file a case with the Wakf Tribunal, asking it to issue eviction orders. The chief executive officer of the board had the power before a separate Wakf Tribunal was established. Currently, the board has to approach the tribunal to get an order. 

“The board should be given executive powers. The need of the hour is immediate action against land grabbers otherwise the remaining properties also will be lost,” noted Hamed Mohammed Khan, president of Jamaat-e-Islami, Telangana and Odhisa. 

Mujahid Hashmi of the Awaami Majlis-e-Amal also echoed similar views, and said with no executive powers, the board cannot protect its hundreds of acres of land. Abid Rasool Khan, former chairperson of the TS Minorities Commission, said that several files belonging to prime properties had gone missing from the board. “I had sought a CBI probe and also have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court. The role of insiders also should be probed,” Mr Khan said. 

So far, only two surveys have been conducted on Wakf properties one in 1960 and another in 2001.  The latter ended recently. Nearly 13,000 new properties were identified in the survey which is yet to be made public. 

As per Section 4(6) of the Wakf Act (Amended) 2013, a survey has to be conducted every 10 years to identify and notify newly created Wakf properties. “The government should immediately release the findings of the second survey so that the real status of Wakf properties in the State is revealed,” demanded S.M Abdul Samad of the Millat Front.