State claims 50% of Waqf land is encroached, starts mapping properties

MUMBAI: As the controversy over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025, continues to rage, surprising details have surfaced about Waqf land in Maharashtra. According to figures with the Maharashtra State Board of Waqf (MSBW), around half the Waqf land in the state is encroached – a total 23,566 properties on 92,247 acres. The extent of encroachment is 60% in Marathwada, where the number of Waqf properties is highest, 15,877 properties on 57,133 acres, according to board.

While Waqf properties refer to personal property donated by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes, the bill seeks to introduce sweeping changes to the management of these properties, increasing state control through aspects such as financial management and audits.

The BJP-led Maharashtra government expects the Waqf (Amendment) Bill to enable it to manage these land parcels, and has issued a tender to initiate a survey of these properties using Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping.

Over the years, the Waqf Board has taken legal action in 1,088 cases filed under Section 54 of the Waqf Act, 1995, which deals with encroachment on Waqf properties. Of these cases, only 21 orders have been executed for the removal of encroachments on these usurped properties, while 250 cases are under review with the Waqf Board and Tribunal.

According to a report submitted by the Waqf Board to the government, the district collectorates have not moved in 483 cases, where orders have been issued for the removal of encroachments under Section 55 of the Waqf Act. The board and tribunal has also issued 21 orders for restoration of properties over the years, but no action has been taken.

“In most cases, the encroachments have been created by muttawalis (caretakers) of these properties, and next generations are squabbling among themselves for rights over them. The government has received complaints of how political leaders have grabbed Waqf land in the guise of welfare of the Muslim community, and is now running their own empire,” said an official with the Waqf Board.

“Barring four properties in Marathwada, none of the others has been developed for the welfare of the community, either by building educational or health institutions on them. In some cases, the properties have been leased or rented at a price much lower than the market rate. The board too has failed to generate revenue or use the properties for the welfare of Muslims,” the official said.

Shabbir Ansari of the All India Muslim OBC Sanghatana said, “There is no doubt there is encroachment and mismanagement of Waqf land in Maharashtra. It is also true that most of it took place during Congress rule and by their leaders, but what the BJP government has done today will result in divesting the Muslim community of their rightful land parcels. It is an attempt to hand over land to industrialists in the guise of welfare of the pasmanda Muslims. The ATAK Shaikh Commission appointed to inquire into the status of Waqf properties in 2011 had concluded that most of the Waqf land grab by political leaders was done in connivance with government officers such as the collectors. Now the BJP government is handing over all power to manage these properties to the same breed of officers.”

The BJP, expectedly, has a counter-view. According to Idris Multani, chief of the BJP’s minority cell, “The Waqf (Amendment) Bill will help the government free the encroached land and utilise it for poor Muslims. We can expect hospitals, schools, girls’ hostels on these lands, serving the intended purpose of the donors of the land. The Congress and their leaders have been opposing the move out of fear of getting exposed in the misuse of Waqf land.”

On the survey of Waqf land being conducted by the state government, Ruchesh Jaivanshi, secretary, minority affairs department, claimed, “There are no authentic figures of these properties or the encroachment on them, as no scientific survey has ever been conducted. Many of these lands have been under litigation pending before the board and tribunal for years.”

He adds, “Although we have issued a tender to map these properties, we are waiting for final guidelines from the centre after the passage of the bill in parliament. We expect to gather scientific data from the survey, which will help in the proper management of these properties.”