Hyderabad: There cannot be an iota of doubt about the overwhelming response to the Waqf Darbar, the first of its kind to be held in Telangana.
It was held in the Abid Ali Khan Centenary Hall, The Siasat Daily, Abids on Sunday, 16 July’23 from 10 am onwards.
Renowned Supreme Court Advocate Mehmood Pracha ably assisted by a team of lawyers conducted this darbar. The urgency of this movement lies in the fact that Telangana has Rs 10 lakh crores worth of Waqf property, in fact, the largest in the country.
The Waqf Darbar that was held is an integral part of ‘Mission Save Constitution’ (MSC), Save Waqf Properties launched in Telangana two months ago.
Over 500 applicants thronged the hall
More than 500 applicants thronged the Hall. Nearly 100 complaints pertaining to Waqf issues, pending cases, instances of noncooperation by the Waqf Board, etc. were received. Mehmood Pracha and his team will proceed with these complaints.
Earlier, a protest rally was announced to be held on 16 July, 23 but was postponed as Bonalu celebrations were going on in various parts of the city. Hence it was decided to hold the Waqf Darbar. Advocates M A Shakeel. Afzal Deccani, Mazharuddin Ali Khan, Mohd Khan Lateef, and others formed the legal team. Enthusiastic volunteers such as Shaik Kareem, Shaik Haji, Syed Riyazuddin, Syed Salman
Minhaj Qureshi and Syed Naveed Ul Haq enabled the smooth functioning of the programme along with MSC team members such as Majid Shuttari, Prof Anwar, and others.
Apart from a team of lawyers, many social activists, volunteers, and community workers have attended the event to extend their help in saving waqf properties.
List of demands
Mehmood Pracha had some interesting announcements to make on behalf of the MSC team. He gave the Telangana government 15 days time till 30 July, 23 to fulfill the following important demands:
- The government must pay the lease as per the Waqf Land Rules for the Waqf lands occupied by the government. The lease amount to be paid is from the time of occupation to now. The lease amounts recovered from the government should be deposited into the Waqf Fund under a separate head. These amounts should be used for widows, orphans, imams and muezzins.
- It is going to be six years since the Telangana State Government sealed the records room of the Telangana State Waqf Board. As per the Central Waqf Council Programme, all Waqf records are to be digitalised. This should be immediately acted upon and Waqf records digitalised.
- Waqf Board members must nullify decisions taken contrary to the Waqf Act Rules and Regulations by means of a resolution and send this resolution to the government. There should also be a resolution passed asking the Chief Minister to constitute a Task Force for Waqf properties within 15 days.
If the above demands are not met or are being ignored, protests will be held at Dharna Chowk and outside the Chief Minister’s residence.
Mehmood Pracha was also emphatic that the public may support the MSC team by volunteering or helping out in kind but not through cash donations and bank transfers. Anyone who claims to be fundraising for this Mission is an imposter and not part of MSC.
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