By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: The Muslim leadership striving for the recovery of encroached Waqf property in Andhra Pradesh achieved a major success on Wednesday as the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy bowing to the mounting pressure returned 50 acres of prime land worth 300 crores to the state Waqf Board.
The land under the Baba Hazrat Sharfuddin Dargah in Pahadi Shareef area outside Hyderabad was part of the 100 acre parcel which was encroached upon by the revenue department and allotted to the state Housing Board for developing a special economic zone in 2007.
Chief Minster Dr Y S Rajsheker Reddy handed over Documents wakf Land Property over 300 hundred Crore to AP wakf Board Chairman Iliyase Sait in front of MIM legislators on 11th Feb 2009.
It evoked a strong protest from the Muslim community which was already demanding the recovery of many other prime Waqf properties and thousands of acres encroached by the government and the private parties including the land taken over for the International Airport in the outskirts of Hyderabad.
The Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy personally handed over the documents to the Waqf Board officials in the presence of prominent Muslim leaders and Ulemas including the Hyderabad member of Lok Sabha and Majlis Ittehadul Muslemeen (MIM) President Asaduddin Owaisi, MIM’s floor leader in the state assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, Maulana Hameeduddin Auqil Hussami and Maulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi.
Addressing the gathering the Chief Minister assured the minority community that the government was assessing the other cases of encroachment on Waqf Properties by the government departments and the private parties. “We will try to return all those properties”, he said.
Of the remaining 50 acres of land of Pahadi Shareef, the Chief Minister indicated that once 100 acres of alternate land was allotted to the Housing Board at another place, this will also be returned to the Waqf Board.
To make the control of Waqf Board on the returned land unchallengeable, the government issued a formal GO to this effect.
The government’s move was being seen as a part of series of measures initiated to meet the major demands of the Muslim community ahead of forthcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections. The Congress government in the state has already fulfilled its promise of 4% reservations in education and jobs and also introduced scholarships and reimbursement of fee for the professional courses worth more than 120 crores.
Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the state minister for energy and minority welfare said that ever since Congress came to power Waqf properties were being protected. “We are trying to ensure proper use of the properties for the welfare of the community”, he said. Shabbir said that the government had initiated several welfare measures for the Muslim community. There was 5307 acres of waqf land in Visakhapatnam part of which was allotted to Hindujas but it has also been recovered, he said. The government was also setting up 14 pre metric and post metric hostel for the minority community, he said.
Welcoming the government’s decision member of Lok Sabha Asaduddin Owaisi said that it was for the first time in the history that the government was returning the Waqf property to the board. “Till now the governments had only damaged the waqf property”, he said. he urged the Chief Minister to return the building to the Waqf Board which was rented out to the police department and was later encroached by the police task force.
Responding to the demand the Chief Minister said that the government will take necessary measures to see that the building was returned at the earliest to the Waqf Board.
MIM and the Congress will remain allies in the coming elections.
Link:
http://apwakfboard.ap.nic.in/