Hyderabad: Grant judicial powers to Waqf Board, demand activists

Hyderabad: Former CPI Member of Rajya Sabha Syed Aziz Pasha has demanded the government to fulfil its promise of providing judicial powers to the Waqf Board for protection of waqf properties.

Talking to media persons, he stressed on the formation of a separate Waqf Commissionerate. He said that Waqf properties worth crores of rupees in Telangana are being destroyed but the Waqf Board has failed to protect it.

He said that the rent fixed for Waqf properties 25-30 years ago is still intact. Aziz Pasha said that after Ramzan, the campaign will be intensified for the protection of waqf properties.

M A Siddiqui, a representative of the All India Muslim Organisation, raised the issue of failure in waqf properties cases in various courts. He appealed to the Chief Minister to implement the steps taken by the Left Front government in West Bengal to protect waqf properties in Telangana.

The representatives of various organizations participated in the press conference and blamed the government for the destruction of waqf properties. They said that unless action is taken against the unauthorised occupants, it is not possible to protect the properties.

Earlier, a video was received claiming that the record section of the Telangana State Waqf Board records are in a risky state. The video showcased a large number of rats ripping through the records of the Waqf properties which was sealed on the instructions of the Telangana government in 2017.

After the incident of the road roller being eaten by termites during the regime of Nizam, now a new record of mice eating the records of waqf properties has been established in the state. Rats in the waqf board have targeted the records section. The Waqf Board officials and employees are aware of it yet no steps are being taken to preserve valuable records of Wakf properties.