On October 5 this year, a Shimla Court had ordered the demolition of top three illegal floors of the Sanjauli Mosque in Himachal Pradesh. The Municipal Commissioner Court in Shimla ordered the demolition of illegally built floors of the Sanjauli Mosque. The Court gave two months to the Masjid committee and Waqf Board to complete the demolition process.
The demolition process started on Monday, October 21, after getting a nod from Waqf Board. The Court had ordered that mosque committee and Waqf Board will bear the cost of the demolition of the illegal portion. However, now the mosque committee is saying that they don’t have money to demolish the illegal structure.
President of the Sanjauli Mosque Committee, Mohammad Latif said that everyone comes forward to build a mosque but no one is willing to fund its demolition.
As per Latif, demolition work will not be carried out till funds are secured for the illegal mosque’s demolition. Notably, Mohammad Latif’s statement comes on the day when demolition work started on the illegal mosque. However, Latif said that the contract was awarded only for the removal of the tin roof, and not the concrete structure itself.
Meanwhile, Devbhoomi Struggle Committee, which has been fighting against this illegal mosque, said that despite court order to remove this illegal structure, there are attempts to bypass court orders.
In the mean time, State Cabinet Minister Aniruddh Singh has said that he is ready to provide financial assistance if the mosque committee doesn’t have funds to demolish the illegal structure. He has said that he will help if the mosque committee approaches him.
