Following the reports of growing incidents of encroachments over Wakf lands in the state, Chief Minister K.Chandrashekher Rao has announced recently in the assembly that the void-ab-initio transactions and registrations over wakf properties will be canceled and measures would be taken to safeguard the properties by providing its executive powers to the board.
However, the prevailing situation is pointing other ways around as no obvious breakthrough or steps were seen so far on the ground that endorsed the government’s dedication towards safeguarding the wakf properties from the encroachments as several hundred acres of lands especially in the Hyderabad city and its outskirts are remain wallowing in a negligible state, encroached or languished in litigations.
“Though the Wakf Board is seen busy in putting its office in order by reinforcing its fleet and task force but still there is a wide gap between government announcements and actions on the ground.
The cherry on the top is that the High Court only yesterday has stayed the government’s action over BRS and LRS issue that surely give an upper hand to the encroachers who have swallowed large extent of Wakf properties in the city and elsewhere in the state,” said, Syed Shoukat Ali, a social activist.
There are, he said, over 70,000 acres of wakf land spread in Hyderabad and several districts of the state. Some land parcels are wallowing in a negligible state while the remaining are encroached or landed in legal disputes.
Further, it is also an incontrovertible fact that officials of the Revenue Department and Wakf Board clandestinely work in connivance with the land sharks thereby helping them to swallow the wakf land and in some cases paved way for the encroacher beat the rap or just with a slap on the wrist from the courts.
“There are several hundred acres of wakf lands in Hyderabad and surrounding areas especially in Ranga Reddy District but without any proper supervision of Wakf Board. Most of these wakf lands turned into habitations, business spots, and institutions being run under government supervision while remaining are reeling under legal dispute.
Among them Rajndranagar, Choutuppal, Balapur, and Jalpally areas of Rangareddy district is notably important were hundreds of acres of wakf land and properties said to have been blatantly encroached or withering out gradually in the absence of proper supervision of the wakf board,” said Osman Mohammed Khan,
“It is high time for the Wakf Board to secure executive powers first and prepare an action plan to carry out inspections accordingly. Only this way they can instill the fear among the encroachers who know how to beat the rap from the courts by taking advantage of the loopholes lying in the government machinery and the law enforcing agencies,” he added
