By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Guwahati: Assam Wakf Board president Abdul Khalque has resigned from his position after BJP’s Minority Morcha’s serious allegations of mismanagement of the properties in the state even as the country is witnessing a wave of resignations. Khaleque, a former MLA of the Congress has also dared to face a CBI inquiry in this regard of fund mismanagement.
“I’m stepping down from my post as the Wakf Board president but I’m pretty sure that I’ve not done anything wrong. I’m ready to face any kind of inquiry including the CBI if needed. I’m also telling you all that if I’m found to be guilty, I’m ready for self immolation,” Khaleque told reporters on Thursday.
Abdul Khaleque talking to reporters in Guwahati after his resignation from Wakf Board.
However, he alleged that the state government agencies were not cooperative enough to rung the institution in the proper way. The outgoing president of the Board claimed that the state Wakf is running at a loss and the state government and its department need to be blamed for this. Khaleq lamented that Wakfs properties have been encroached and government has not done anything formidable on this.
The Minority Morcha of the saffron party had claimed that it has collected detail information of Wakf properties across the state along with income generated from these properties and also the expenditure on various welfare activities for the Muslim community.
According to Morcha, there are 15,805 bigha, 2 katha and 13 lessa of land under Wakf board. Along with two tea gardens there are 179 registered properties under the board. The present value of these properties even by conservative estimate will be about Rs 10,000 Crore.
“What surprises us that despite having such a high value properties under its possession, the income and its spending on the welfare of Muslim community is surprisingly low. This has compelled us to think that the Congress government has failed to manage the Wakf board properly. Corruption is the root cause of the mismanagement,” state Minority Morcha president, Syed Mominul Aawal said.
They claimed that government figures showed that from 2007 to 2013, the only time the Wakf made the highest income was Rs 1, 76, 667 in 2012-2013. While in 2011-12 the income was Rs 56,122 and in 2010-11 it was Rs 1,12,392. In 2009-10 the income was Rs 72,104, in 2008-09 the income was Rs 64,949. On the other hand in 2007-08 the income was Rs 54,781.
“If we compare with large properties under Wakf board, the figures of income are too small. There is something seriously wrong in running the Wakf board. We strongly believe that if the Wakf board was run properly, the income from its properties would have done significant job for the welfare of Muslims in Assam,” Aawal said adding that Congress is only interested in Muslim votes not in the welfare of the community.
The Morcha also said that from 2007 to 2013 only 147 students were provided with scholarships and 22 youths were trained in cell phone repairing by the Wakf board.
Further, they demanded that the government should make public the present market value of the Wakf properties. “Also the government should come clear on status of encroachment of Wakf land, and what steps it has taken to free these lands from encroachers. We also demand the income figure of Wakf board from 2001 to present,” Aawal said.