TRS Government Forcibly Taking Over Wakf Lands: Congress

Former minister & ex-Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir strongly opposed the decision of the Telangana Wakf Board to give wakf lands on long lease to the state government for the establishment of minority residential schools.

Shabbir Ali said that each Wakf property was governed by a 'mansha' (object) to which it was endowed. Therfore, those properties could not be utilised for proposes other than the object mentioned in the 'mansha- e-wakf', he said.

He further said that the Wakf Board was only the custodian of the Wakf properties and not their owner. Therefore it was not empowered to utilise the properties as per its will.

He said that religious leaders, Mutawallis and other leaders of the community had strongly objected to the proposal, and that for the same reason the board could not pass a resolution in favour of leasing out the lands in four meetings held earlier.

He also pointed out that only four members of the board were present in the meeting held on Thursday. This was less than the required quorum, and therefore the decision stood invalid.

He also asked why the other members of the board had abstained from such a crucial meeting to decide on such an important matter. He said that the board members were divided on the issue, and so had stayed away from the meeting to protect themselves from criticism in future.

Shabbir Ali said that it was the responsibility of the state government to arrange land for the residential schools. Just because the schools were for the minorities, the government could not force the Wakf board to give wakf lands, he opined. He also pointed out that as the then Wakf Minister in the previous Congress regime he had established minority residential schools at 13 places including Kamareddy, Zaheerabad, Nizamabad and Guntur on government lands, and that the entire cost of the construction was borne by the government.

The Congress leader alleged that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had been unhappy with the board for not giving lands on lease for the residential schools at eight places. KCR apparently wanted 500 acres of wakf lands for various purposes, and had threatened to dissolve the Wakf board if it refused to give him the lands. It was the fear of losing their posts that had made the Wakf board chairman Mohd Saleem and three other members decide in favour of granting Wakf lands on lease for the residential schools at eight places, Shabbir Ali alleged.

He demanded that the Wakf board withdraw its decision and refrain from taking any such decisions without consulting Mutawallis and other religious leaders. He also questioned the timing of the decision, asking why the board was in a hurry to decide on the lease when the entire state was in a lockdown.

He warned the TRS government of serious consequences if it tried to take over the Wakf properties through backdoor methods using blackmailing tactics.