700 Of 800 Waqf Plots Encroached In Bhopal, Board Cries Foul

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly 700 out of 800 properties belonging to the Waqf Board have been encroached upon, leading to huge monetary loss for the Board.

The encroached properties are mainly located in areas such as Model School Ground, Munsi Hussein Talab, Sikandaria Sarai, Bag Munsi, Farhat Afza, Jahangirabad and others.

With the recent passage of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the Board is now expected to be empowered to remove encroachers and reclaim its properties.

According to Waqf Board officials, even under the nose of the Waqf Board's office lies a major encroachment: the Muslims Orphanage (Yateem Khana). The Board had appointed Dar-ul-Shafqat Society as caretaker for its management but had never leased the land to them. Over time, the society allegedly took over nearly two acres of land and began profiting from it by sub-letting the property under banners of Ijtima Mela, Jeevan Rekha Hospital and other entities.

In terms of legal action, the situation is grim. Around 600 cases are pending with the State Waqf Tribunal, 376 litigations are under consideration in the High Court, and 15 cases have reached the Supreme Court.

Speaking to Free Press, MP Waqf Board chairman Dr. Sanwar Patel said, “Caretakers have encroached on most of the Waqf Board properties across the state. In Bhopal alone, 700 out of 800 properties are encroached, and we are not getting even a single penny from them. Caretakers are minting money and living lavishly. What’s shocking is that even in cases of sub-letting, they manage to obtain fire safety certificates and other documents, despite not being legal owners of the property.”

He said that the Dar-ul-Shafqat Society earns nearly 2 crore through the Ijtima Fair held adjacent to the State Waqf Board office, yet not a single penny is given to the Board, even though the property legally belongs to it.

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