Hyderabad, July 14: A row has erupted over the handing over of Anees-ul-Ghurba orphanage in Hyderabad to Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS), which is a state government body.
Leaders of ruling Congress and opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) are blaming each other for changing the status of Anees-ul-Ghurba, a Waqf institution.
While BRS leaders, including former chairman of Telangana Waqf Board Masiullah Khan, have alleged that Waqf Board handed over Anees-ul-Ghurba building to TMREIS for a very low rent, present Waqf Board Chairman Syed Azmathullah Hussaini stated that the it was under the previous BRS government that the building was rented to TMREIS.
Hussaini claimed that the Waqf Board meeting, chaired by then chairman Masiullah Khan on September 27, 2023, decided to give the entire building comprising 1.45 lakh square feet on rent to TMREIS at Rs.5 per square feet.
He said former chairman Masiullah Khan gave baseless statements. He said since the political existence of BRS leaders is in danger they are making such statements.
Meanwhile, various social, political and religious organisations have come together to launch a movement for protection of Anees-ul-Ghurba. It vowed to fight for protecting the identity of the Waqf institution and restore its past glory. The organisations have decided to approach the High Court.
Located at Nampally in the heart of the city, Anees-ul-Ghurba was founded by philanthropist Mir Khaja Badruddin Chishti in 1921. It was governed by the Asaf Jahi dynasty’s ecclesiastical division. After the merger of Hyderabad State into the Union of India, it was handed over to the Endowment Department.
Later, in 2009 the state government issued an order instructing the transfer of its possession to the Waqf Board. The Waqf Board demolished the dilapidated orphanage to make way for a new building.
The reconstruction works of the oldest orphanage in the city began in 2017.
Though Anees-ul-Ghurba was located on 570 square yards, the previous BRS government promised to build a huge building by transferring adjacent vacant land of over 4,000 square yards. It sanctioned Rs.20 crore for the project. It was stated that the institution can get income from the commercial complex on the prime land.
The government also came up with the proposal of setting up KG to PG facility in the building.
In October 2023, a month before the Assembly elections, the new building was inaugurated by then minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali along with AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi.
However, the Waqf Board decided to give the newly-constructed building on rent to TMREIS, which runs a chain of schools and junior colleges for minorities across the state.
Leaders of the movement for protection of the orphanage said that the Congress government implemented the decision of the previous government and handed over the building to TMREIS.
They say that the move is disastrous for the institution as it goes against the very ‘Mansha-e-Waqf’ of its founder. He had clearly mentioned that the institution will not be under government or any government-run body. A committee of influential and concerned citizens from the city was to run its affairs and the expenses were to be met from donations, zakat and sadaqa.
The institution was meant to take care of orphan boys till they become self-sufficient and orphan girls till their marriage. Previous records show that the orphans sheltered in this institution were educated till graduation and settled down in various parts of the country and abroad. Currently, about 600 orphans are taken care of by the institution.
President of All India Sufi Ulama Council Moulana Hakeem Sufi Syed Shah Mohammed Khairuddin Qadri mentioned that even when Anees-ul-Ghurba was under Endowment Department, there used to be a committee to run its affairs. He said the destruction of the institution started after it was brought under Waqf Board.
A meeting organised by the movement decided to stage dharna to demand protection of the institution. The meeting was attended by Movement for Peace and Justice president Mohammed Abdul Azeez, Professor Anwar Khan, Dr Aleem Khan Falki and others.
Meanwhile, Waqf Board chairman Hussaini also dismissed the allegation by the BRS leaders that the Congress government has not handed over 125 acres of land allotted by the previous government for graveyards for various sects like Sunni, Shia, Mehdvi and Bohras.
A Government Order allocating 125 acres of lands around Hyderabad was issued on August 7, 2023.
According to Azmatullah Hussaini, it has now come to light that 37 out of 125 acres of land is under litigation. He said the BRS government issued the GO in a hurry before elections to get votes of Muslims.
He also dismissed the criticism that the Congress government did not release funds for the building adjacent to Haj House though the previous government had sanctioned Rs.23 crore.
The Waqf Board Chairman claimed that Rs.23 crore were not allocated in the Budget.
