Wakf Board Chairman Abdul Riyaz Khan on Saturday said that the total encroachment of the board’s land was only around 5,072 acres and efforts are being made to recover them.
He was countering the charges made in the report of the State Minorities Commission chairman Anwar Manipaddy that huge tracts of Wakf properties worth more than Rs 2 lakh crore have been either encroached or misused in the state.
Speaking to reporters here on Saturday Khan alleged that the allegations made by Manipaddy were ‘motivated and distorted’.
“The survey work of over 18,314 properties has already been completed. The survey of the rest of the properties is in progress,” he added.
Refuting the charges that large tracts of Wakf properties have been encroached by many Congress leaders, including former Union railway minister C K Jaffer Sharief, Rajya Sabha member K Rahman Khan and others, he said, “Those charges are baseless and far from truth.”
Giving details on the extent of encroached land belonging to Wakf Board in the state, he said that in Bidar 1,974 acres of land have been encroached followed by Gulbarga (950), Bagalkot (1,061), Belgaum (26), Bangalore Urban (623) and Bangalore Rural (23.20).
Several state government institutions, private persons and NGOs are also involved in the encroachment of the Wakf properties, he said.
He said that the Wakf Board has earmarked Rs 10 crore for the rejuvenation and protection of its properties and more than Rs 2.80 crore have been spent for this purpose.
APMC and the Wakf minister S K Bellubbi, who also spoke on the occasion, said, “The extent of encroachment of the Wakf properties in the state by various organisations and persons would be made known only after completion of the survey.”
Referring to the Anwar Manipaddy’s report on the encroachment and misuse of the Wakf properties, the minister said that the matter has been taken to Lokayukta and the government is awaiting its verdict on the issue.