Days after Tamil Nadu Waqf Board claimed ownership of 7 Hindu-majority villages and a 1500-year-old temple in Tiruchirappalli, it has come to light that the Congress-led-UPA government gifted 123 government properties in Lutyens’ Delhi to Waqf in 2014.
As per a news report by Times Now, the decision was taken by the Cabinet and conveyed through a secret note, just days prior to the 2014 General election. The properties are located in prime locations such as Connaught Place, Ashoka Road, Mathura Road and other VVIP enclaves.
Times Now reported that it took just a phone call to identify the 123 government properties in favour of the Delhi Waqf Board. The news channel also shared the secret note, which is dated March 5, 2014, and signed by Additional Secretary JP Prakash.
#WaqfLandSecretNote#EXCLUSIVE | Days before the 2014 elections, the UPA govt ‘gifts’ 123 prime properties in Delhi to Waqf.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) September 16, 2022
“Please refer to the telephonic request”, @RShivshankar takes us through the details of the ‘secret note’. pic.twitter.com/TfcDOShyPJ
Addressed to the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, the note read, “Denotification of 123 properties in Delhi under the control of Land & Development Office (LNDO) & Delhi Development Authority (DDA) allowing the title to revert to Delhi Waqf Board be communicated to the Ministry pending formal issuance of minutes.”
According to Times Now, a supplementary note was written by the Delhi Waqf Board on February 27, 2014, to the Government of India, staking its claim on the 123 prime properties in the National Capital. Interestingly, the ‘secret note’ was issued by the UPA Cabinet within a week of receiving the proposal.
The news channel also unearthed a notice by the Union Home Ministry which stated, “The Central government is pleased to withdraw from the below-mentioned Waqf properties under the control of LNDO & DDA, subject to the following conditions.”
The Congress-led-UPA government conceded that the 123 properties belonged to the Delhi Waqf Board and decided to ‘withdraw’ its claim on them, after receiving a note from the Board. it must be mentioned that the said properties were inherited from the British government and their status remained unchanged till March 5, 2014.
NDA government took cognisance of the matter in 2015
As early as February 2015, the BJP-led-NDA government vowed to set up an inquiry into the decision by its predecessor to gift government properties to the Delhi Waqf Board. The development came after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) moved the Delhi High Court against the decision.
The Hindu organisation had then argued that the prized properties could not be released and identified under Section 48 of the Land Acquisition Act. While speaking about the matter, then Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said, “I have received a representation against Salman Khurshid… On the eve of his demitting office last year, he was instrumental in the transfer of these properties, keeping vote bank politics in mind.”
According to a senior official at the Ministry, the de-notification process was done in haste (one day prior to the implementation of the Model Code of Conduct). Reportedly, 61 of the 123 properties were owned by LNDO while the remaining 62 properties were owned by DDA.
Delhi Waqf Board defended its decision
The Delhi Waqf Board was granted the power to carry out renovation and construction on the properties, following the transfer of ownership by the UPA. In its defence, nodal officer Alam Farooqui alleged that the 123 properties were built on masjids, dargahs and graveyards.
He claimed that the reversal of the UPA decision would impede the generation of revenue and the development of the Muslim community. “Revenue from wakf properties is used for the welfare of the community,” Farooqui said.
He further added, “Only a handful is vacant land and most of these have been encroached upon. Ownership rights would have allowed us to remove the encroachments.”
Inquiry Committee failed to resolve the issue
An Inquiry Committee, comprising of a retired Delhi Higher Judicial Service official named JR Aryan, was set up by the BJP government in May 2016. It was tasked to submit the report within a period of 6 months.
In June 2017, it was reported that the Committee recommended that the final call on the fate of the 123 properties must be taken by the Delhi Waqf Commissioner. One official informed that the JR Aryan Committee failed to examine the core issue of the de-notification i.e. whether the properties actually belonged to the Waqf.
This was despite the fact that it was tasked to seek the views of all stakeholders. Even though it took an extension of additional 6 months, the Inquiry Committee failed to come up with a concrete solution and passed the buck on to the Waqf Board Commissioner.
It suggested that the DDA and LNDA take up the matter with the Commissioner for a solution. Interestingly, the power to appoint the Delhi Waqf Board Commissioner rests with the Delhi government (which is run by the Arvind Kejriwal-led-Aam Aadmi Party).
A source had told The Hindustan Times, “Had the panel taken a call on the ownership of properties and not left it to the waqf commissioner, the NDA government could have struck down the UPA’s decision.”
