Mohamed Yousuff, industrialist, was unanimously elected chairman of the Karnataka State Board of Wakfs here on Saturday.
The election was held following the resignation of Riyaz Khan from the post.
Mr. Yousuff (68), a resident of Bangalore, assumed charge in the presence of Minister for Minorities Welfare and Wakf Qamarul Islam, and said that he would judiciously spend the amount allocated by the State government for the welfare of the community members and protection of waqf properties.
Mr. Yousuff would be the chairman for the remaining 31 months of the five-year term. The State government had given Rs. 88 crore to the board in 2014-15, he said.
Mr. Qamarul Islam told presspersons that the board would fill 255 vacancies to ensure implementation of its various activities. Recruitment would be done division wise with the Karnataka Examination Authority’s support, he said.
The survey of waqf properties would be completed by October-end. “Nearly 80 per cent of the survey has been completed,” the Minister said.
The board had 1.32 lakh acres of land in its possession earlier. Owing to encroachments, it was now in possession of only 52,000 acres of land, the new chairman said.
Member of the board and Congress MLA Tanvir Sait was also present.
