VELLORE: Around 40 residents of Kattukollai village in Anaicut, led by the Hindu Munnani, submitted a petition to Collector V R Subbulaxmi on Friday, opposing a notice from a local mosque administered by the Waqf Board — Kilandal (Nawab) Masjid & Hazrath Syed Ali Sulthan Sha Darga — which claimed that the land they live on belongs to the Board.
In the notice, the mosque’s hereditary muthavalli (manager), F Syed Satham, said the residents are occupying Waqf land under survey number 362. It asked them to get into a formal agreement with the mosque and pay monthly rent or face eviction under Waqf rules.
The village is home to about 150 families, most of whom are engaged in agriculture or daily wage labour. K Magesh, a Hindu Munnani functionary, said the villagers have lived there for four generations, paid water taxes, and claimed the land was previously recorded under survey number 333/1 in their names. He alleged the issue is being raised now due to the passage of Waqf Act.
Sumathi of Kattukollai told reporters that they received notice from the mosque asking them to pay taxes. “Why should we pay taxes to them when we are already paying tax to the government. We have been living here for about four generations,” she said.
However, Syed Satham told TNIE that five acres of the land, on which the villagers live, belong to the Waqf Board. Notices were sent to 60 families two months ago, he said, adding that official records show the land has been gazetted under the board since 1959, with legal efforts to reclaim it beginning in 1991. The matter has been flagged with the Waqf Board CEO, collector and tahsildar. All documents have been submitted to the collector, and discussions are on to resolve the issue, he added.