Hyderabad: Shopkeeper tenants of two prime Wakf properties in the old city area, Makkah Madina Aladin Wakf building and Nabikhana Moulvi Akbar, are taking advantage of indefinite clauses in the Wakf Act to escape payment of rentals on par with the prevailing market value as demanded by the Wakf Board.
The issue of enhancement in rental rates and sub-leasing tendency has not been solved for years. The two major Wakf institutions provide commercial space to about 830 businessmen to run their businesses. In Madina Complex, there are 540 shopkeepers while Nabikhana Moulvi Akbar Complex houses 299 shops.
One family occupies around 30 shops in Nabikhana Complex. Most of them have wholesale and retail garments business, but they are not inclined to enhance rentals, which are extremely lower than the market rate. Board authorities are trying to convince them to enhance rental rates, but they are not ready for it, leading to the ongoing stalemate between the board and shopkeepers for over five years now.
Most shopkeepers pay just Rs 3,000 a month while a few pay up to Rs 6,000.
The fact is that the Wakf Board built the Nabikhana Moulvi Akbar on Wakf land on build-operate-transfer basis in the late 1990s and the builder took advances and allotted the shops for meagre rent. Board officials said in March 2018, around 42 subtenants were regularised and the rent fixed at Rs 25 per sqft, while tenants of the Makkah Madina Aladin Wakf Complex were served notices.
