Hyderabad: Squatters have swallowed Waqf land worth Rs 1 lakh crore which was owned by the Telangana State Waqf Board (TSWB) and attached to various Muslim religious institutions in the state. It is more than half of the entire budget of Telangana state for the current year which is Rs 1.82 lakh crore.
Recently Telangana high court had lashed out the Waqf Board on the issue of a graveyard land belonging to it being grabbed by trespassers, wondering why the authorities were not filing cases against the encroachers.
As per the Waqf board official records, 57,423 acres of 77,538 acres of land (74%) worth Rs 1 lakh crore owned by the Board is encroached upon by land sharks.
TOI quoted TSWB chairman Mohammed Saleem as saying that nearly 5,000 acres of land had been taken back in the last two to three years. He informed that two special task force teams have been set up to raze unauthorised structures on the Waqf land. Senior advocates have been engaged to fight cases along with the standing counsel, he added.
The Board is said to be fighting nearly 2,000 cases in various civil courts, high court and tribunals to get back its land.
Indicative statement showing the particulars of Encroachment on WAQF institutions and its attached properties in TELANGANA – as per the latest available information
| S. No. | Name of the District | No of Institutions | Total area in Acres | Area under Encroachment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adilabad | 1734 | 10119.33 | 9189.12 |
| 2 | Hyderabad | 2706 | 1785.17 | 1469.28 |
| 3 | Karimnagar | 1971 | 1846.26 | 60.03 |
| 4 | Khammam | 1174 | 534.10 | 143.31 |
| 5 | Mahaboobnagar | 4561 | 11500.18 | 7864.38 |
| 6 | Medak | 6325 | 23910.11 | 23782.03 |
| 7 | Nalgonda | 3108 | 5300.31 | 1400.02 |
| 8 | Nizamabad | 3597 | 4795.25 | 23.12 |
| 9 | Rangareddy | 5724 | 14785.17 | 13480.25 |
| 10 | Warangal | 3029 | 2962.19 | 12.37 |
| Total: | 33929 | 77538.07 | 57423.91 |
According to the officials, the land gobblers include influential leaders from the political parties and real estate firms. Unofficial sources reported that majority of Mutawalis and religious leaders are working hand in glove with Muslim politicians from TRS, Congress, TDP and MIM in grabbing Waqf land which is worth more than 10 lakh crores.
Leaders of a party and their benamis grabbed nearly 200 acres of land in Mamidipally, which belongs to two ashoorkhanas. Admitting that some political leaders had grabbed Waqf land in the undivided state with the connivance of officials, Saleem said that the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao told them not to spare anybody and register FIRs against them. He revealed that the Board has started lodging FIRs.
Nearly 1,000 illegal registrations had been cancelled at places like Attapur and Guttala Begumpet, he disclosed. Pahadisharief (2,130 acres), Allur, Vikarabad (1,200), Mamidipally (720), Attapur (400), Maheshwaram (200) and Guttala Begumpet (93 acres) are the worst-affected areas.