‘Rs 2-lakh cr’ land scam rocks Wakf Board

Mangaloretoday/PTI

Bangalore, March 27: Misuse and encroachment of Wakf properties in the State have caused a whopping Rs two-lakh crore loss to the exchequer, dwarfing the 2G spectrum scam, the Karnataka State Minorities Commission claimed on Monday.

The Commission has ‘implicated’ almost all senior Muslim political leaders — most of them belonging to the Congress party — besides ‘indicting’ senior IAS, IPS and KAS officers.

The Commission has blamed politicians, including Union Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, MPs Dharam Singh and K Rehman Khan; MLA R Roshan Baig, former Union minister C K Jaffer Sharief, Iqbal Ansari, M S Ansari (late), Azeez Sait (late), Hindasgeri; MLAs Tanveer Sait, N A Haris, Qamrul Islam; former MPs Suryavamshi, Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi, among others, for the loss. It recommended that the Centre amend the Wakf Act 1995 so that “persons who have misused, encroached upon and illegally occupied Wakf properties are banned from contesting elections/ nominations, including to Wakf institutions and Board”.

 

 

It has also recommended criminal proceedings against those involved in the scam, and superseding of the Wakf Board by the government.

The Commission, which took up its study on the subject in Bidar district  in November last year, submitted the 7,000-odd page report to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Monday. The report is titled ‘Study on the misuse and encroachment of Wakf properties in Bidar district’.

Gowda said the government would ensure that the properties are recovered and the guilty punished.

Karnataka Minorities Commission chairperson Anwar Manipaddy demanded that the report be placed before the Legislature.

The total encroached land in Bidar is 1,803 acres (of 2,586 acres). Of the total estate value of Wakf properties worth Rs 410 lakh crore, properties worth Rs 2 lakh crore have been either encroached on or sold illegally. There are a total 33,741 registered properties in the State in 54,000 acres.

The Commission, which conducted its study in other districts, also including Gulbarga, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagaram and Koppal, has alleged misuse of properties, encroachments, illegal disposal, mismanagement and fraudulent acts committed by erstwhile heads of the Wakf Board, elected representatives, politicians and others.

Manipaddy said his life was under threat. “I received threats from various quarters. The present Wakf Board chairperson Syed Riyaz Ahmed, who is absconding, too threatened me. In January, he offered me a bribe of Rs 4 crore.”

Roshan Baig, Haris and Qamrul Islam, reacting to the report, said they were clueless how anyone could come to a conclusion that they were responsible for the misappropriate of Wakf properties. He said the government must order a CBI probe into the scam.

Recommendations:

Keep the Wakf Board under suspension for 12 months to enable probe by the Lokayukta; constitute Wakf Properties Task Force to retrieve properties; constitute a high-powered committee to work out modalities to run the Board in a transparent manner; suspend present committee for one year; Committee should have two senior IAS officers, one retired judge, two NGOs and three persons from the Minorities Commission; appoint IAS officer Rajaneesh Goel as head of the Task Force; take up land audit of Wakf properties; resume second survey by creating a Special Purpose Vehicle; remove encroachments; jail term of five to 10 years, plus fine of double the value of property encroached, sold or purchased illegally; institute criminal proceedings against those involved in the Hopcoms scam; suspend present chairman Abdul Riyaz Khan responsible for sale of Hopcoms land belonging to Dargah Hazrath Khaderi.

Politicians, officials in dock

Politicians: Suryavamshi, former MP; Naseem Patel, land developer, local politician in Bidar; Iqbal Ahmed Saradgi, former MP; Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Minister; Dharam Singh, MP; Qamrul Islam, former minister, sitting MLA, member of Wakf Board; C M Ibrahim, former Union minister; Alhaj Syed Yaseen, MLA; Ashfaq Ahmed Chulbul, deputy mayor, Gulbarga; R Rahman Khan, MP; Syed Riyaz Ahmed – present chairman; Roshan Baig, former minister; N A Haris, MLA (his wife, mother); C K Jaffer Sharief – former Union minister; Azeez Sait, former minister; Tanveer Sait, president, Wakf institution; Iqbal Ansari, former minister; M S Ansari (late), former minister; Khalid Ahmed, former Board chairman; former minister Hindusgiri.

Officials: Salahuddin, IAS; M F Pasha, Retd IPS; M A Khalid, Retd KAS; Mohammed Sanaulla, IAS; Maaz Ahmed Sheriff, KAS; Anees Siraj, KAS; Sadiya Sultana, KAS; M A Khalid, Retd KAS, Maaz Ahmed Sheriff, KAS.


Here are five facts on this story:

1) What is the scam? In Karnataka, nearly half of the 54,000 acres that was in the custody of the Waqf board has been misused. Property worth an estimated 2 lakh crores has been illegally transferred to to private institutions and individuals. A report says middlemen, politicians and Waqf board officials colluded to make this happen between 2001 and 2012.
 
2) What was the land meant for? The property donated to the Waqf board, a charitable trust, is meant to be used religious or charitable purposes -to run a free school or hospital, for example. Waqf properties typically also house mosques, dargahs and graveyards. Property in the custody of the Waqf Board cannot be mortgaged or transferred without permission from its officials.
 
3) How was the alleged scam discovered? The head of the Karnataka Minorities Commission , Anwar Manipaddy, submitted a report to Chief Minister DV Sadananda Gowda yesterday. The BJP government had ordered an inquiry in November after media reports that politicians and Waqf Board officials were illegally selling land to individuals.

4) What happens next? The report by the Chairman of the Minorities Commission will be tabled or shared with the Karnataka Assembly. The chief minister says he will study the report after the current assembly session concludes.

5) Who are the politicians named? The period covered by the report, 2001-2012, saw different governments in power in Karnataka - some led by parties that are now in the Opposition. The report allegedly faults only leaders from the Congress, which could damage its credibility.