Maharashtra: Waqf board takes control of 40 acres at Kanifnath Temple in Ahmednagar
- In Reports
- 06:18 PM, Oct 26, 2024
- Myind Staff
A dispute erupted in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar after the Waqf Board has taken control of 40 acres of land near the Kanifnath Temple, asserting that the land actually belongs to a Dargah. The dispute goes back to 2005, when the land was supposedly registered under the Waqf Act, resulting in a series of ongoing legal conflicts.
According to Republic Media Network, the temple trustees confronted the Waqf after it put up a sign claiming ownership, citing historical documents to back up their claim. Shrihari Ambekar, a trustee of the Kanifnath Temple, stated, “The land was entrusted to Biban, the wife of Shankar Bhai, as a caretaker. Our trust possesses documents from the pre-British era that support our ownership, which the District Court of Rahuri has recognised.”
Ambekar stated that in 2005, some local Muslim residents reportedly skipped the proper steps in the registration process, which violated important rules of the Waqf Act that require notifying existing stakeholders. He emphasised that the temple trustees were not made aware of the registration, resulting in heightened tensions.
The situation arose a day after the Waqf Board took control of 1,200 acres of farmland in Vijayapura village, Karnataka. On Thursday, October 24th, farmers in the Vijayapura district submitted a petition to the district in-charge Minister, MB Patil, after receiving notices stating that their lands were now considered property of the Waqf Board.
Recently, Jameer Ahmed Khan, the Minister for Housing, Waqf, and Minority Welfare held a meeting with Waqf officials to address the problem of encroachments on Waqf lands. Following this meeting, the officials took steps to remove these illegal encroachments, which led to the issuance of contentious notices.
Comments