Over the years, the Waqf Board has received “donations” worth over 1.12 lakh acres, but it only has authority over 20,054 acres. Barely 17% of the 1.12 lakh Waqf assets are not subject to encroachment, and the religious properties have been illegally seized by Muslims. Furthermore, no Waqf Board lands had been occupied by Hindu temples. BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minority Welfare, made the disclosures in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on 16th March (Monday).
“Waqf properties are spread over a total 1,12,860 acres. These were not given by the government but were donated by private individuals for the welfare of the community. Of this, 17,969 acres have been encroached upon. The encroachments were not by temple managements, most are by the Muslim community,” he mentioned while responding to a query by Afzalpur Congress MLA MY Patil during Question Hour.
Zameer asserted that in order to locate and reclaim encroached properties, the government established Waqf Lok Adalats in 2023. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party charged that the Waqf Board had sent notices to farmers claiming thousands of acres of their land, which sparked controversy.
The minister added, “We lost 47,263 acres under the Inam Abolition Act and 23,627 acres to the Land Reforms. After I became minister, I started Waqf Adalats to address these encroachments. But this became a huge issue. They’ve been encroached by Muslims themselves.” He stated that attempts were underway to eliminate the unlawful occupation, resolve complaints and disagreements pertaining to these encroachments and land management.
Patil brought up the matter concerning the area in and around Afzalpur in the Kalaburagi district, accusing, “We cannot launch govt projects on this land and have to look for private land. But private parties currently possess these properties. They are not under the control of either the Waqf Board or government.”
Moreover, Leader of the Opposition R Ashok intervened during the debate, urging the government to halt the board’s encroachment on public property. According to him, “arbitrary” claims were a major problem with Waqfs. He highlighted, “In Chikkaballapur, the school in which Sir M Visvesvaraya studied was claimed by the Waqf Board.” The BJP leader noted, “Earlier, temple and Waqf land was donated to farmers, and they have been tilling the land for generations. If farmers are in possession of the land, it should be left to them irrespective of whether they are Hindu or Muslim.”
Ashok also asked, “What about the Windsor Manor hotel? Let there also be an investigation into the famous hotel. You did not mention this case and instead talked of other issues. How did you leave that out? You never ever mention it. Have you once laid claim on Windsor Manor? You won’t, because you go eat food and drink coffee there.”
However, Zameer insisted that the Supreme Court is presently considering the hotel property dispute. The house was also reassured by him that no religious or educational establishment will be taken over as Waqf.
