In a big step taken by the Uttar Pradesh government, 58 acres of land in Kaushambi district, earlier registered under the Waqf Board, has now been freed and recorded as government land. This move comes during an ongoing political and legal battle over the recently introduced Waqf Amendment Act.
According to Kaushambi District Magistrate Madhusudan Hulgi, a total of 98.95 hectares of land in the district was under the Waqf Board. Out of this, 93 bighas, around 58 acres, have now been reclaimed by the administration and marked in the government’s records.
The administration found during an investigation that much of this land was wrongly listed under the Waqf Board. Earlier records showed that the land belonged to the Gram Samaj, or the village community, before it was registered as Waqf land.
Many of these lands include madrasas (Islamic schools) and graveyards. However, officials say these lands were originally public property and not meant for Waqf purposes. After verifying the records, the administration took steps to reclaim the land and correct the records.
Officials have formed investigation teams in all three tehsils (sub-districts) of Kaushambi. These teams are now checking more Waqf lands to find out if they were also wrongly registered. The officials confirmed that more land might be reclaimed soon after proper verification.
This action came shortly after the Central Government passed the Waqf Amendment Act. This law gives more power to District Magistrates to take action on Waqf land and aims to improve the management of Waqf properties across the country.
While the government is taking action under the new law, the Supreme Court has raised concerns over certain parts of the Waqf Amendment Act. A bench led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna said some rules in the Act could have serious consequences.
The court especially pointed out the rule that allows the government to cancel the status of Waqf land even if it was earlier declared Waqf by a court. The court also questioned the inclusion of non-Muslims in Waqf councils and boards. These matters are now under review by the Supreme Court.
The situation around Waqf properties is becoming more tense as legal, political, and religious issues continue to emerge. While the Uttar Pradesh government is taking bold steps to reclaim public land, the Supreme Court’s intervention shows that the matter is far from settled. More developments are expected in the coming days.
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