In Telangana, the Wakf Board has 33,929 properties under it, which include dargahs, graveyards, mosques, ashoorkhanas, chillas (flag posts), takias (sarcophagus), among others, all of which combine an area of 77,538.07 acres. However, the flipside is that over 75 per cent of these lands have been encroached upon.
In Hyderabad, there are 542 dargahs, 513 graveyards, 772 mosques, 195 ashoorkhanas, 262 chillas, 51 takias and 371 other properties, totalling 2,706, out of the entire 39,929 Wakf properties.
The highest number of properties is in Medak district at 6,325, followed by Ranga Reddy and Mahbubnagar districts which have 5,724 and 4,561 properties respectively.
One of the major reasons behind the encroachments, cited by an official, was that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) cannot take suo moto action against encroachers.
“After verifying the complaint, the CEO has to inform the police or municipal authorities to take action against the encroachers,” mentioned the official.
The official informed that the State Wakf Board had recommended giving the CEO powers to take suo moto action against encroachers to a Joint Parliamentary Committee some months ago, when it had come to Hyderabad.
“The committee has been examining state by state on whether the CEO should be allowed to do that,” the official said.
The Wakf Board will soon issue guidelines for all imams and muezzins of mosques in the State to apply for the Rs.1,000 honorarium which will be given to them by the Telangana government. Once issued, it will also give the department the actual number of existing mosques in the State, which officials believe is more than the existing 3,052 registered ones. Post Ramzan, the State government had released Rs.12 crore to the Wakf Board to disburse the honorarium amounts to Imams and Muezzins of all mosques in the State. “When the Chief Minister asked how many mosques exist, he was told there are about 1,500 more apart from the ones which are registered. Once we give the guidelines, we will know the exact number based on the applications,” said a senior official, requesting anonymity. Hence, the money released also was more than what was required for the registered 3,052 mosques in the State, pointed out the official. According to data from the Wakf Board, Hyderabad has 772 mosques, the highest among all the 10 districts in Telangana. Medak and Ranga Reddy districts follow, with 469 and 454 mosques, while Khammam has just 63. In the past, there have been instances when property owners have come to the Wakf Board with complaints that mosques they built were being encroached upon. “That is why registering mosques with the board will help them, as the property will be endowed and will also be protected by the authorities,” said the official.
