Real estate boom in Ayodhya ignites concerns over encroachment of Waqf properties

Mohammad Azam Qadri fights encroachment on Waqf properties in Ayodhya, UP, as the president of the Sunni Central Waqf Board. UP has 1,62,229 Waqf properties, including mosques & cemeteries. Task force formed to remove encroachments, but no concrete steps taken.

Mohammad Azam Qadri has written over a dozen letters over the last couple of years, to the Uttar Pradesh administration and the police, alleging encroachment on Waqf properties. “Encroachment has been taking place on Muslim cemeteries, Idgahs (open spaces for prayer), and mosques. I have written letters to the district authorities for protection of Waqf properties, but our representation is not taken seriously,” said Mr. Qadri, who is the president of the Sunni Central Waqf Board sub-committee, Ayodhya.

He said more than 3,000 square feet of an Idgah and cemetery near Saket Degree College has been encroached upon, one of the 10 properties affected over the past three years.

He attributes the encroachment to the land mafia’s sudden interest in Ayodhya, with the city’s real estate boom, after the Supreme Court’s 2019 verdict that paved the way for the building of the Ram temple which will be consecrated on January 22.

The State Waqf Boards are statutory bodies entrusted with the custody of Islamic endowment properties used for charitable or religious purposes. There are 1,62,229 Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh, including 1,50,000 registered with the Sunni Central Waqf Board and 12,229 with the Shia Central Waqf Board. There are more than 100 mosques and 185 cemeteries across Ayodhya district.

Zufar Farooqui, chairperson of the U.P. Sunni Central Waqf Board, said, “Encroachment-related disputes on properties under the custody of the Waqf are across the State, and the administrative authorities have been informed.”

The Ayodhya district administration said necessary action is taken whenever information about encroachments is received.

“In 2021, the Principal Secretary (Home) issued directions to constitute a district-level task force to remove such encroachments. We take necessary action as and when a petition or application is received about illegal grabbing of Waqf properties. We forward the petition, including Mr. Qadri’s or others, to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) concerned for inquiry and action as per law,” said Amit Pratap Singh, Minority Welfare Officer, Ayodhya.