BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari has alleged a massive land grab in Bankura district, claiming that state-owned land was illegally reclassified as Waqf property overnight. Taking to X, Adhikari sounded the alarm over the controversial conversion, questioning the sudden transfer of government land and accusing authorities of deliberate misconduct.
Shocking News of Govt land grabbing at Bankura district by converting it into Waqf Property !!!
At a time when the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, have been tabled in the Parliament, after having cleared the Waqf Bill 1995 with 25… pic.twitter.com/z7hQClSjmu
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) February 9, 2025
The land in question, measuring 0.9 acres and located in Machantala, Bankura, was previously listed under the 1st Schedule, which exclusively catalogues government-owned properties. However, in a highly suspicious and sudden move, a new land schedule was created on January 30, 2025, and the same plot was reclassified as private land under the Abdul Rahim Ali Waqf Estate.
Land details:
Mouza: Bankura
JL No.: 211
RS (Revisional Settlement) Plot No.: 805
LR (Land Reforms) Plot No.: 1244
The conversion has triggered a political and legal storm, with demands for an immediate probe into what many see as a blatant land grab under the guise of Waqf expansion.
Sources have revealed that when Block Land & Land Reforms Officer (B.L.&L.R.O.) officials were confronted about the sudden change in ownership, they failed to provide any justification. Further investigations suggest that Additional District Magistrate (L.R.) & DL&LRO, Mr. Vivek Dattatraya Bhasme, may have acted under pressure from District Magistrate & Collector, Bankura, Mr. Siyad N.
The lack of transparency, absence of due process, and administrative silence have only intensified suspicions that this land transfer was politically motivated and executed with full knowledge of top officials. The controversy has erupted just as the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) Report on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has been tabled in Parliament, with the bill likely to be passed soon.
Legal experts and political observers are questioning whether this hurried reclassification was a deliberate and preemptive move to ensure that the land is transferred before new legal restrictions under the Waqf (Amendment) Bill come into force.
The bill, which introduces 25 amendments across 14 clauses of the Waqf Act, 1995, is expected to tighten control over land acquisitions by Waqf boards and close loopholes used for arbitrary conversions. If passed, such transfers may no longer be possible, adding to suspicions that this land reclassification was orchestrated in haste before the new law takes effect.
