Notices issued to farmers over Waqf land will be withdrawn: H.K. Patil

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil on Monday said that the notices issued to farmers designating their land in Vijayapura district’s Honavada as Waqf properties will be withdrawn. “The government has no intention of converting agricultural land into Waqf property,” he said.

“Notices issued erroneously will be withdrawn. The jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner will conduct a probe on the error, after which appropriate action will be initiated against the guilty,” Mr. Patil told presspersons here.

‘Farm land safe’

Meanwhile, a group of three Ministers asserted on Monday that the Waqf Board has no intention of acquiring any land belonging to farmers, accusing the BJP of politicising the issue for electoral gains.

In a joint press conference, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan, and Vijayapura district in-charge Minister M.B. Patil emphasised that legitimate landowners need not fear losing their land.

Mr. Byre Gowda explained that Vijayapura district originally had 14,201.32 acres designated as Waqf land. “Over time, 11,835.29 acres were granted to farmers under the Land Reforms Act, and 1,459.26 acres were allotted under the Inam Abolishment Act. An additional 137 acres were acquired for various projects, leaving 773 acres under Waqf institutions’ control,” he said, clarifying that only 11 acres belong to Waqf, and no eviction notices have been issued to farmers in in Honavada village.

Pointing out that the 1974 notification had erroneously listed “Honavada” in brackets following “Vijayapura Mahalbagayata,” but this was corrected in a 1977 notification, resolving the issue. However, he acknowledged that in Indi taluk, a tahsildar updated the land records (in column 11 of the Pahanis) for 41 properties without issuing prior notice, violating protocol. “Affected farmers can now present land records predating 1974 to the Assistant Commissioner, and any lands verified as legitimate will be denotified,” he said.

“There is no conflict between the government and farmers or between Waqf and farmers,” he said, attributing recent confusions to internal BJP rivalries between Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and B.Y. Vijayendra.

Mr. Patil added that a task force led by the District Commissioner has been formed to investigate the matter, with instructions to cross-reference Waqf and revenue records from 1964 to 1973 for accuracy. He accused the BJP of stoking confusion to influence upcoming elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The district administration has been advised to cooperate with any BJP-led fact-finding missions and provide full transparency, he said.

Mr. Khan said: “We do not want any land owned by farmers. I am also the son of a farmer. Our goal is simply to update Waqf land records. Only 11 acres in Honavada are Waqf property, contrary to claims of 1,200 acres. The rest belongs to the farmers,” he said.

Waqf land encroached

“In Vijayapura, 1,345 acres of Waqf land have been encroached upon, none of which have been officially allotted to anyone. Of this, 26 acres are currently under legal dispute in court. The remaining 1,319 acres are in the unauthorised possession of individuals or institutions and efforts are underway to address this issue. We are not seeking any other land in Vijayapura beyond the encroached properties,” Mr. Khan asserted.

He also said that Mr. Yatnal was invited to attend the recent Waqf adalat in Vijayapura but he did not turn up. “Now, he is spreading misinformation,” he added.

Published - October 28, 2024 10:01 pm IST