Hyderabad, Aug 3: Muslims have lost over 12 lakh acres of land since 1948 as their lands were snatched in the name of reforms, claimed AIMIM floor leader in Telangana Assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi.
He also alleged that Waqf properties worth lakhs of crores were handed over to corporates by successive governments in united Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
He said Muslims were worst affected whenever land reforms were brought in independent India. He stated in the Assembly that after the downfall of Asaf Jahi dynasty and Police Action, many Muslims lost their lands. Later their lands were also taken in the name of Jagir Abolition Act, Inam Abolition Act and Urban Land Ceiling Act.
He alleged that over the years Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Congress governments allotted 1,000 acres of government land to various individuals, multinational companies in the name of promotion of information technology, pharmaceuticals and other sectors.
He stated that a major chunk of the land allotted belongs to the Waqf Board.
The AIMIM leader claimed the Waqf land was handed over to private corporations during the erstwhile Congress government in the undivided Andhra Pradesh as well as during the 10-year BRS rule in Telangana.
Owaisi said that if he said something, Congress leaders would say that BRS was in power for the past 10 years. “I want to ask Congress friends what they did when they were in power for 10 years,” he said, alleging that many Waqf properties were destroyed between 2004 and 2014. These include the Hazrat Hussain Shah Wali Dargah spread over an area of 1,600 acres where Lanco, Wipro, Microsoft, and ISB are now located. The land was allotted for IT promotion, but Lanco has constructed a residential apartment there, he said.
The AIMIM leader alleged that the government failed to protect the Waqf land. Participating in discussions on Telangana land rights and reforms, he said the Muslims suffered the most because of the Dharani portal introduced by the previous BRS government.
Claiming that BRS lost the elections due to flaws in the Dharani portal, Akbaruddin Owaisi urged the Congress government to swiftly make the necessary corrections in the portal for the benefit of the people. He demanded action against the guilty.
He mentioned that under Dharani portal, Waqf properties were registered as disputed if the dispute is with private parties but in cases where the dispute is between Waqf Board and the government, the properties were registered as government properties. As a result of this, the Waqf Board suffered defeat in many cases.
He questioned the delay on the part of the Congress government to remove the flaws in Dharani portal.
Akbar Owaisi also sought tabling of the preliminary inquiry report of CID into the encroachment of Waqf properties. The CID inquiry was ordered during the BRS rule.
He stated that despite the second Waqf Survey, Gazette notification was not issued. The survey had identified 30,000 acres of Waqf land but this land too was being encroached.
