‘Most of Jubilee Hills,Film Nagar is Wakf land’

Property measuring 323 acres and 18 guntas donated by Qutb Shahi dynasty belongs to a dargah situated at Toli Chowki, claims Wakf Board

It might come as a surprise but most of the plush houses and structures in the posh Jubilee Hills and Film Nagar area have come up on Wakf property, the A.P. State Wakf Board claimed on Monday.

The big bungalows, including the Apollo Hospital, have been built on the land belonging to Dargah Hazrath Hakeem Shah Saheb Almaroof Hakeem Shifee situated at Toli Chowki, it argued.

The Wakf Board issued an errata notification on Monday to the earlier Gazette which demarcated the extent of dargah land. Consequently, it is contemplating to serve eviction notices on the “encroachers”.

The Wakf Board is now staking claim on areas which include Jubilee Hills, Film Nagar and surrounding localities. The landed property measuring 323 acres and 18 guntas in Survey No. 92 and 102 was donated by the Qutb Shahi dynasty and was duly confirmed by the ‘Salateen Asifia’ (Asif Jahi rulers). This property was surveyed by the Commissioner of Wakf but the Gazette notification issued on July 1, 1982 had ‘erroneously’ showed the extent of dargah property as 4,448.4 sq yards.

The notification had showed only the extent of dargah, but did not consider the hilly terrain around it. Now, a Wakf Board task force team which surveyed the property in 2011 in its report said the area under Survey No. 92 and 102 was Wakf property. But the Gazette notification was published without including the land measuring to an extent of acres 323.18 guntas, the report said. At its meeting here on Monday, the Wakf Board took note of this fact and issued an errata notification to the Gazette notification No. 26.C part II dated July 1, 1982 incorporating the actual area of acres 323.18 guntas. The Board passed a unanimous resolution to this effect.

Wakf Board Chairman Syed Ghulam Afzal Biabani said the matter was examined in detail and the ‘Muntakhab’ No. 786/4 Babul Awkaf 1321 Hijri was verified. He said there was no need to refer the matter to the Survey Commissioner of Wakf for re-survey. Under section 40 of the Wakf Act, 1995, the Board could decide the matter after enquiry.

In another resolution, the Wakf Board decided to bury the unclaimed Muslim bodies lying in mortuaries in the districts. The Board would provide Rs. 2,500 for each burial. The bodies would be procured by the concerned Inspector Auditor of Wakf and funeral process would be completed with the help of local religious leaders and NGOs.