The notorious Wakf Loot

Hyderabad, April 04:

For the first time in the history of India after its independence a historic judgement was pronounced by AP High Court. It should be an eye opener for all those who usurp wakf properties thinking that they are not accountable to any one and no authority on the surface of the earth is dare enough to challenge them.

L. Rajgopal of LANCO Hills used all tactics to win the wakf land case of Manikonda but all his efforts have gone in vain.

Muslims of India have faith in Indian democracy and greater faith in its judiciary; be it Supreme Court or High Courts of various states.

During the Congress regime when 2G Scam was exposed, the pillars and corridors of our Parliament were shaken. The total loss of Government exchequer due to 2G Scam was Rs.176000 Crore which is like peanuts when compared to wakf loots.

As per the wakf survey report (1) there are 38000 wakf properties in AP. The second survey report indicated 70,000 Wakf properties in AP. The total area of Wakf land is more than 6 lakh acres.

Wakf land from Hi-Tech City to Shamshabad Airport measures 18,900 acres which is worth 2 lakh crore.

Market value of Husain Shah Wali Wakf Land is Rs 30 Thousand Crore and that of Dargah Ishaq Madani (Visakhapatnam) is Rs. 2500 Crore.

Land value of Dargah Maqdoom Mohiuddin is Rs.500 Crore.

Wakf land pertaining to Jamia Nizamia was handed over to APIIC for developing electronic city, its value is Rs. 8000 crore.

If the value of all the wakf properties occupied illegally either by Government of Andhra Pradesh or other private parties is calculated it may exceed Rs. Three Lakh Crore.

Government of Andhra Pradesh very reluctantly enhanced the budget allocation of the Department of Minorities Welfare to Rs. 489 Crore only which is peanuts when compared to the value of Wakf Properties.

If we survey the status of Wakf properties, the situation is still worst. In Maharashtra, Mukesh Ambani constructed his legendary palatial mansion which is worth Rs. 10,000 Crore. He built it on a wakf land. The wakf document of this land was sold at Rs. 50 Lakh. He paid Rs. 16 Lakh for getting NOC from State Wakf Borad.

Windsor Manor a Five Star Hotel of Bangalore was constructed on a Wakf land sold out by the then Congress Minister of Wakf Aziz Seth only for Rs. 5 Lakh.

This property is worth nearly Rs. 50,000 Crore.

During the tenure of office of Late P.V. Narsihna Rao, as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, the wakf land of Naubath Pahad was handed over to Birla for constructing a planetarium.

Government of India allocated Rs. 3750 Crore fo rthe Ministry of Minorities Welfare which is again an eye wash to the Muslims.

Muslims should try to restore wakf properties from the Government instead of approaching the authorities with a begging bowl each time for getting more budget allotted for them.

A concerted effort is the need of the hour on the part of all the Muslim leaders which will pay rich dividends in the days to come. The future generation of the Muslim will remember us for our efforts.

Emaar got 400 acres of land

AP HC bench made it clear that once a property is declared as Wakf, it is vested with the Almighty, and even the Muthawalli, being a manager, has no right. Even a service Inam does not alter the nature and character of a Wakf property. Of the 1,600 acres, the government had allotted 400 acres to Emaar, 108 acres to Lanco Hills, 54 acres to Microsoft, 50 acres to Infosys, 30 acres to Wipro, 5 acres to VJIL and 7 acres to Polaris and others by way of auction and nominations.

The state government had contended that the notification of the Wakf Board was baseless and depended on the Muntakhab (a record of properties belonging to Muslim religious institutions). It was alleged that some of the land records were also tampered with to show that the land belonged to the Dargah.

The Wakf Board, on the other hand, submitted that the Muntakhab of the Wakf published in the Gazette on February 9, 1989, did not contain the entire extent of land held by the Wakf and therefore, the Board had corrected the same by issuing an errata in April 2006. The Board contended that though there was clear evidence that this land indeed was Wakf property, the authorities chose to suppress the facts and issued a notification in 2005 for auctioning the lands. There was an AP High Court judgment and an Hatiyaz order, both clearly stating that these were Wakf lands even prior to the auctions.

Referring to the suit by the Dargah management and a private person pending before the Wakf Tribunal and also writs filed by Majlis MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi, H.A. Rahman of YSR Congress and Mohammed Baig, the Bench stated: “It would not be proper to dwell into the merits of the case, which might have the effect of rendering the remedy before the tribunal.” The bench granted liberty to the persons acting pro bono publico to approach the tribunal.

While dismissing the civil revision petitions, the Bench observed that there was no balance of convenience in favour of the builders and entire legal issues raised could be agitated before the Tribunal. The bench held that the observations made in this order would not have any binding on the tribunal and it could independently decide on the matter.

Siasat News With thanks to DC