Andhra CM stalls Waqf board’s proposal to lease out 30K-acre plot for commercial purposes

The Andhra Pradesh government has stalled the notification issued by the State Waqf Board to lease out nearly 30,000 acres of Waqf land for commercial purposes, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

A senior official of the state minority welfare department said following instructions from chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the department on Wednesday issued orders cancelling the notification given by the Andhra Pradesh State Waqf Board on April 3 on leasing out of Waqf lands across the state.

In the notification, the Waqf Board called for an expression of interest from private individuals and organisations for the development of Waqf lands ranging from one acre to 200 acres spread over different parts of the state, for commercial purposes, including establishment of petrol pumps, shopping complexes, commercial buildings, and multiplexes. The notification set a deadline of May 8 for submissions, the official said.

Waqf Board chairman Sheikh Abdu Aziz said that the board had issued a notification on utilisation of Waqf lands. “The notification was only to invite expressions of interest from private parties regarding the development of lands to generate revenue. It was not meant for leasing out or selling the lands to the private parties,” he clarified to the reporters on Wednesday.

“The Waqf Board was exploring various options to generate income for the board which could be used for the welfare of Muslim community, including payment of scholarships for students and financial aid for the poor. Inviting private parties for the development of Waqf lands is one such option,” he said.

As the issuance of notification seeking expression of interest from the private parties highlighted in a section of local media, it triggered uproar in the Muslim community. “The Waqf Board has no right to exploit the Waqf lands for commercial purposes. This is nothing but a systematic exploitation of the Waqf properties, as feared by the Muslim groups after the passage of Waqf Amendment Bill in Parliament,” former MLA and prominent Muslim leader Shaik Mastan Vali from Guntur said.

He said any decision with regard to the sale or development of Waqf land should be approved by the cabinet and later ratified by the Waqf Board. “The board cannot simply issue a notification for monetisation of Waqf properties,” Vali said.

As the issue came to the notice of the chief minister, he called for a meeting of the minority welfare department authorities on Wednesday evening and enquired about the details. The official brought to the notice of Naidu that the notification was issued without informing the state government or seeking its approval.

The chief minister ordered the immediate withdrawal of the notification and directed the minority welfare Department to take urgent measures to protect Waqf properties. “He said such lands must only be used for the development and welfare of Muslim minority communities,” the official quoted above said.

After the meeting, Abdul Aziz said the board had no plans to sell the Waqf lands. “The board doesn’t have adequate income even for salaries, maintenance, and other expenses,” he said, adding that the notification was only part of the income-generating exercises. “We shall take any decision only in consultation with the state government,” he said.

Aziz said that of the total 69,000 acres of land under the Waqf Board, more than 36,000 acres have been encroached upon over the years. “The present board is focused on protecting the remaining 33,000 acres, and finding legitimate means to generate revenue from them,” he added.