1.12 lakh acres donated to Waqf Board, but it currently controls only 20,054 acres: Zameer

Housing, Waqf and Minority Welfare Minister B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan informed the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that more than 1.12 lakh acres had been donated to the Waqf Board over time, but currently the Board has control over only 20,054 acres.

He said on Monday (March 16) that 17,969 acres of Waqf land in the State had been encroached upon by members of the Muslim community.

Replying to a question raised by Congress member M.Y. Patil during Question Hour, Mr. Khan said the Board lost 23,627 acres following implementation of the land reforms. He reiterated that Hindu temples had not encroached upon any Waqf Board properties.

Waqf adalats

The Minister said he had conducted several waqf adalats to address grievances and disputes related to illegal encroachments and land management, and efforts were being made to remove such encroachments.

Intervening during the discussion, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok urged the government to stop alleged encroachment of government land by the Board. He cited an instance in Chikkaballapur, claiming that land belonging to the school where M. Visvesvaraya had studied had been encroached upon by the Waqf Board.

Mr. Ashok also challenged the Minister to direct the Waqf Board to reclaim the land on which Windsor Manor is operating in Bengaluru.

Cemetary land

In a reply to another question by BJP member Prabhu B. Chavan, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said religious minorities are unhappy owing to scarcity of land for cemeteries.

He noted that Muslim and Christian communities bury their dead, and due to the inability to provide sufficient land for burial grounds in several parts of the State, members of these communities are expressing dissatisfaction with the government.