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Haryana assembly in session: Why Waqf Board not taking action against illegal occupants of mosques, asks Congress MLA
Responding to issues the Congress MLA had raised, parliamentary affairs minister Kanwar Pal said majority of properties in question occupied by other communities are those left behind by Muslim occupants during Partition. Congress MLA alleged that 1,089 mosques have been under illegal possession of private individuals
Questioning why the Waqf Board is not taking action against illegal occupants of mosques and other properties of Muslim community, Congress MLA Mamman Khan on Tuesday alleged that 1,089 mosques have been under illegal possession of private individuals, including government and religious institutions.
Responding to the issues the Congress MLA had raised in his question, parliamentary affairs minister Kanwar Pal said the majority of the properties in question occupied by other communities are those left behind by the Muslim occupants during the Partition.
The MLA wanted to know the details of cases filed/action taken by the Waqf Board for eviction and recovery of rent against the 12,436 lessees who are defaulters of lease condition and are in encroachment/illegal possession of waqf properties in the state. Khan also wanted to know reasons behind no action by the Waqf Board to remove the illegal possession from 1,089 mosques which he said have been under illegal possession of private individuals, government, semi- government or religious institutions in the state.
The parliamentary affairs minister said the board has issued letters to the existing defaulting lessees to get their leases renewed/regularised as per the terms and conditions of the board and issued reminders for the same.
He informed that about 600 defaulting lessees have got their lease renewed out of 12,436.
Now, the board is initiating legal action against the defaulting lessees by issuing legal notices. The board is trying to get the mosques vacated from illegal possession by persuasive means and also through legal enforcement, he said.
“The state government will closely monitor and take the required steps through the Waqf Board for the restoration of the legal possession of the Waqf properties,” he said.
The minister said in 2013- 2014 after an Act was passed by the Centre as per which the land of the Waqf Board would be given through bidding, the lease renewal stopped and these lease holders kept on becoming defaulters and this number reached to 12, 436.
“By issuing an instruction on November 18, 2021, our government made a provision to renew the lease of the existing lease holder and after that the renewal of the lease resumed,” he said, adding that renewal has been done in 1,822 cases till March 20, 2023.
