Bengaluru, March 16 (IANS) Minister for Waqf and Housing B.Z. Zameer Ahmad Khan stated that the Waqf Board will not meddle with any properties attached to temples or schools.

He made the statement in the Legislative Assembly on Monday while answering a question by senior Congress MLA M.Y. Patil.

Minister Zameer said, “I have clearly stated that we will not meddle with any properties belonging to temples. We will also not touch the properties of schools or educational institutions.”

“We are only focussed on private parties encroaching upon Waqf properties. In most cases, the encroachers are Muslims,” he said.

Zameer said that across the state, Waqf Board properties are estimated to cover 1.12 lakh acres. However, the total land currently available with the Waqf Board is only 24,054 acres.

About 17,580 acres of land has been encroached upon, 47,263 acres went under Inam Abolition, and 23,627 acres went under the Land Reforms Act, he said.

“After the Congress-led government assumed office in Karnataka, I formed Waqf Lok Adalats to identify and recover Waqf properties that have been encroached upon,” he said.

He said that Leader of the Opposition, R. Ashoka, and other BJP leaders must understand that the reason for forming the Waqf Adalats is to address the issue of encroachment on Waqf properties.

“The total Waqf properties are over 1,12,860 acres. These are not properties given by the government. They were donated by private individuals for the welfare of the community. Out of this, about 17,969 acres have been encroached upon,” Minister Zameer stated.

“The encroachments have not been carried out by temple managements or others. The encroachers are from the Muslim community,” he said.

“To remove encroachments, I formed Waqf Adalats. However, the BJP created a huge controversy during the Belagavi Winter Session. That is why I am clarifying this,” Minister Zameer said.

R. Ashoka said, “I know that in Kalaburagi and surrounding areas, Muslims have encroached upon Waqf properties. That is not the question we raised.”

“We questioned the Waqf Board claiming properties such as the government school where poineering Indian civil engineer, Sir M. Visvesvaraya studied and temple lands as Waqf properties,” he said.

“Earlier, temple and Waqf lands were donated to farmers and they have been carrying out agriculture on them for generations. If farmers are in possession of the land, it should be left to them irrespective of whether they are Hindus or Muslims,” Ashoka said.

“Let there be an investigation into Waqf encroachments. In Bengaluru, the famous Windsor Manor hotel is located on such land. Mr. Zameer, you did not mention it and instead talk about other issues. You do not talk about it at all. Not even once have you mentioned it, perhaps because you go there for coffee and food,” Ashoka chided.

Minister Zameer stated that the matter is with the Supreme Court.

Earlier, senior Congress MLA M.Y. Patil raised the issue in the Assembly regarding the encroachment of Waqf properties by private parties during the Question and Answer session.

MLA Patil said that in and around Afzalpur town in Kalaburagi district, documents show that several properties belong to the Waqf. “We are not in a position to take up any government projects and have to look for private land,” he said.

“However, these properties are currently in the possession of private parties. They are not under the control of either the Waqf Board or the government,” he added.

–IANS

mka/rad