Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, June 8: Contradicting its earlier reply, the Government today said approximately 6000 kanals of Wakf Board is under illegal occupation of Government departments, security forces and civilians.
“The Wakf land in possession of Auqaf is 90653 kanals and one marla and illegally occupied by Army and other paramilitary forces is 2710 kanals and 16 marlas, by Government departments it is 896 kanals and 15 marlas and by Civilians is 2390 kanals and one marla (approximately),” the Minister Incharge Haj and Auqaf said in Upper House in a written reply to MLC Zafar Iqbal Manhas.
However, the Minister’s reply is in clear contradiction to the information it provided on Tuesday to Congress MLC Ghulam Nabi Monga. The Minister yesterday had said that no land of the Wakf is under illegal occupation in Jammu and Kashmir by any department or Army.
The Government’s contradictory reply drew flak from Monga and he urged Chairman Anayat Ali to take notice of the ‘misleading’ information being provided by the Minister. “It’s quite contradictory. You should take notice of the issue. What is happening?”, he said.
Responding to Monga, the Minister of State (MoS), who is holding Independent charge of Haj & Auqaf, Farooq Andrabi, said yesterday’s reply was of Wakf Board and today’s is Wakf Council. Apparently unaware that yesterday’s reply was given in writing, the Minister also made a surprising remark on the floor of House and said: “I don’t know how this answer got exposed in media when it wasn’t read here.”
With regard to the occupied land, the Minister Incharge said the matter is being actively pursued with all concerned departments/agencies to either seek regularization of the occupied land or ensure its vacation.
“The Special Officer Auqaf has been asked to separately identify the land under unauthorized occupation of Army, BSF, CRPF and police,” said the Minister, adding that the Special Officer Auqaf has been instructed to pursue with the civilian departments to either vacate the land or seek its regularization and so far an amount of Rs. 55 lakhs have been realized on account of the rent.
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