Indi farmer’s land transferred to waqf board without notice; Many in Vijayapura get notices

VIJAYAPURA: A farmer from Indi taluk got the shock of his life when he found out that his agricultural land of 14.32 acres, which the family had been cultivating for generations, had been registered in the name of the waqf board without any notice being issued to him.

The move has created a sense of anxiety and anger among farmers who vented their ire in front of the district deputy commissioner’s office.

Recently, Waqf minister Zameer Ahmed Khan had visited the district and conducted a waqf adalat at the zilla panchayat premises wherein he verbally directed the district officials to conduct a survey and ensure khatas of waqf properties are done. Following this, farmers in different taluks have been receiving notices that their agricultural land is actually waqf property and to visit the office if they have any objection. However, the Indi farmer’s case, where the documents were changed without notice has raised alarm.

Yamanappa Mallappa Kenganala, the farmer from Tenihalli village in Indi taluk, whose farm land records have been changed, said he found out about it a few days ago when he had gone to the taluk office to get the (pahani) land records for some purpose. “I myself have been cultivating the ancestral land for the last 40 years. Now, they say it’s waqf land. What am I supposed to do, where do I go?” he questioned.

Yamanappa had got the land as gift from his grandmother. “I have approached the DC over the change of land ownership”, he said. The incident has, however, led to speculation whether there was some official error or whether it is an organised effort to grab farmers’ land.

Farmers’ leader Sangamesh Sagar said, “After minister Zameer Ahmed Khan conducted the waqf adalat, about 2,000-3,000 farmers in all taluks across the district have received notices claiming that their land is waqf property. This has led to anxiety among the farming community. Through the DC, we demand that the government allow farmers to continue farming and not take over the land. We will not allow even a small piece of land to be taken over, else we will stage protest”.

Farmers’ leader Aravind Kulkarni said, “The Karnataka government and the Karnataka Waqf Board are conspiring to destroy farmers and bring them to the streets. This is an unpardonable offence and farmers have been cultivating it for generations. The government should stop this immediately. Documents also show that the waqf board has taken loans on these lands and this is happening across the state”.

On Friday, Bengaluru South BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said, “A congregation of farmers from Vijayapura met me and handed over voluminous documents concerning their properties and farmlands, which now the Waqf is claiming to be its own. Whether it is in the mutation register or the revenue records, the names of the farmers and their families are mentioned. However, over the last few months, the Waqf Board in Karnataka has started claiming all of these lands’.

“In Vijayapura district, the waqf board is claiming more than 15,000 acres. Congress Minister Zamir Ahmed Khan recently went on a tour of many districts in Karnataka and instructed the Deputy Commissioners and the revenue authorities to register these claims of the Waqf Board within 15 days. Without giving any notice, thousands of acres of land have been registered in the name of the Waqf Board”, he said.

“This entire problem is the creation of the Waqf Act, Congress in 1995 and 2013 gave powers to the Waqf Board. The Waqf board has also been given powers of removal of encroachment. I want to request all farmers of Karnataka if the Waqf Board is making such baseless claims about your land, my office is open to you 24/7… This December in the winter session of the Parliament the Modi government is going to correct these blunders and put a full stop to the atrocity and the unilateral powers of encroachment”, he added.

Following this, Vijayapura Deputy Commissioner Bhoobalan said, “There is false information doing the rounds that 1,500 acres of land in Honavadu village of Tikota taluk has already been handed over to the waqf board by officials. I would like to make it clear that no farmer or property owner in Honavadu village has been issued notices and no property has been handed over to the waqf board in the last one month.

“The waqf board does not have 1,500 acres of property in Honavadu village. As per the gazette notification, it is only about 10-15 acres, in small parcels, which belongs to masjid, idgah maidan and cremation grounds. Farmers of Honavadu have nothing to fear. In case they get notices, they can produce documents and we will go through it carefully and then take a decision”, he said.