The issue of illegal encroachments and arbitrary claims on public and private properties by Waqf Boards has emerged as a significant concern across multiple states in India. Reports indicate that thousands of acres of land, including government properties and even entire villages, have been occupied or claimed by Waqf Boards, often without any legal transfer records.
A recent Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on district-wise data of Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh has revealed large-scale encroachments in key districts, including Ayodhya, Shahjahanpur, Rampur, Jaunpur, and Bareilly. The report, submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, highlights how thousands of Waqf properties in these districts are actually located on government land categorised for public use.
According to the report published by Amar Ujala, Uttar Pradesh alone has 57,792 government properties registered under the Waqf Board. The highest numbers of encroachments have been recorded in:
- Shahjahanpur – 2,589 registered Waqf properties, out of which 2,371 are government properties.
- Rampur – 3,365 total Waqf properties, with 2,363 on government land.
- Ayodhya – 3,652 Waqf properties, of which 2,116 are encroachments.
- Jaunpur – 4,167 Waqf properties, with 2,096 under illegal occupation.
- Bareilly – 3,499 Waqf properties, with 2,000 located on government land.
Additionally, top 21 districts in Uttar Pradesh have been identified where thousands of government properties are wrongly claimed by Waqf Boards. These include Lakhimpur Kheri (1,792 properties), Bulandshahr (1,778), Fatehpur (1,610), Sitapur (1,581), Azamgarh (1,575), Saharanpur (1,497), Moradabad (1,471), and Pratapgarh (1,331), among others.
One of the most alarming findings of the JPC report is that in 40 districts of Uttar Pradesh, hundreds of Waqf properties exist in Waqf records, but there is no official documentation of their transfer in tehsil records. The affected districts include Firozabad, Mathura, Aligarh, Etah, Shahjahanpur, Siddharthnagar, Gonda, Prayagraj, Varanasi, and Jaunpur, among others.
For instance, in Mahoba, the Waqf Board officially has no record of Waqf properties, yet the district gazette lists 245 properties as Waqf properties. A similar discrepancy exists in Sonbhadra, where only one Waqf property is recorded in official documents, but 171 properties are categorised as Waqf in the district gazette.
A government-ordered survey in Kanpur last month found 1,670 Waqf properties in the district, out of which 548 are on government land. The Sunni Waqf Board controls 914 properties, while 34 belong to the Shia Waqf Board. The majority of these properties are religious structures, including mosques, graveyards, shrines, and mausoleums. The report noted that 80 per cent of illegally occupied Waqf properties in Kanpur serve Islamic religious purposes.
Similar irregularities have surfaced in Rajasthan, where a survey found that 69 temples, most of them ancient, are recorded as Waqf properties in government records. These temples are located primarily in Bharatpur, Jhalawar, and Alwar. The findings revealed that 59 temple lands across 20 districts are registered under the Waqf Board, raising concerns over religious encroachments.
According to government data presented in Parliament in December 2024, India has 8.72 lakh Waqf properties, of which 994 were transferred to Waqf in an illegal manner. The highest number of such illegal transfers (734 properties) occurred in Tamil Nadu, followed by 63 in Rajasthan.
Additionally, the government disclosed that only 3.3 lakh (37 per cent) of the total Waqf properties have been digitised, leaving vast tracts of land unaccounted for and vulnerable to illegal claims.
The findings of the JPC and other government surveys have sparked widespread demands for stricter regulations on Waqf properties. Experts and legal analysts argue that there is an urgent need for transparent land records and digitisation to prevent illegal encroachments and arbitrary claims. The issue has also gained political traction, with leaders urging stringent action against unauthorised Waqf claims and encroachments on public land.
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