A day before the Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the Haj House proposed at Shadikhana in Vidyadharapuram, a controversy has emerged with local residents alleging that the site was a private land and that the Government was encroaching it.
However, Andhra Pradesh Wakf Board Chief Executive Officer clarified that the land was clearly mentioned in the Waqf Board Gazette and the survery number the residents were referring to was a different one altogether. “There is no truth in their claims,” he added.
Speaking to the media, residents led by Burra Padmanabha Sarma, Purushotham Agarwal, Ashish Gupta, Durga Prasad and others said that the land records available in the registrar’s office clearly showed that the 4. 5 acres belonged to one Basavaraju Nagabushanam Pantulu.
“With none to claim the property, the local Muslims have encroached the land and built a shadhikhana and a Masjid and three acres are being used as burial ground. Now, the remaining 4.5 acres is being taken away to build the Haj house,” they claimed.
The locals said for several communities living close to the proposed Haj House, it would be a cultural shock as several Muslim rituals and festivals would be organised much to their discomfiture. “Even the local Muslims admit that the land didn't belong to them. Yet, the government is keen on its appeasement policy,” the residents complained.
What the records say
However, Joint Collector-2, in a press release, said that as per 1935 revenue settlement records NTS No. 128, the 6.9 acres has been recorded in the name of Chairman, Municipality and as per 1964 Town Survey Act, Survey No 1, Block 3 and NTS No. 128, the land at Vidyadharapuram is recorded as a Muslim burial ground. “So this land doesn’t belong to any private person ,” he summed up.
