Errors in 1974 gazette notification rectified, only 11 acres is waqf property: M.B. Patil

Industries Minister M.B. Patil, who is also the Vijayapura district in-charge Minister, on Saturday clarified that 1,200 acres of land at Honavada in Tikota taluk of Vijayapura district, being designated as waqf property is due to an error in the gazette.

Industries Minister M.B. Patil, who is also the Vijayapura district in-charge Minister, on Saturday clarified that 1,200 acres of land at Honavada in Tikota taluk of Vijayapura district, being designated as waqf property is due to an error in the gazette.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Patil said only 11 acres out of the 1,200 acres was waqf property. It included a burial ground covering 10 acres and 14 guntas, with an idgah, masjid, and other structures on the remaining 24 guntas. “All other land belongs to farmers, as confirmed by the local tahsildar and the Deputy Commissioner,” he said.

Mr. Patil explained that gazette notifications on waqf properties in Vijayapura district were issued in 1974, 1978, and 2016. The waqf property does exist in Mahalbagayata of Vijayapura. However, the name Honavada was mistakenly added in brackets after Mahalbagayata in the gazette. “When farmers brought this to my attention, I held a meeting on October 19 with the Deputy Commissioner, tahsildar, and other officials and directed them to address the issue appropriately,” he noted.

The Honavada village, located in his Babaleshwar constituency, only has 11 acres across 10 survey numbers designated as the waqf property. The waqf board acknowledged the mistake in the 1974 gazette, which was corrected in 1977 by removing “Honavada” from the record, he added. The tahsildar and the Deputy Commissioner have confirmed that the confusion arose from incorrect documentation.

“Farmers and private owners have no reason to worry, and I will soon convene another meeting with officials on this matter,” Mr. Patil stated.

Mr. Patil said BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal should refrain from politicising the matter and assured that no farmer-owned land would be taken as the waqf property.

Mr. Surya had met the farmers at Honavada on Friday and said they were served notices declaring their land as waqf property “with no evidence or explanation provided.” “The extent of these claims is staggering, with nearly 1,500 acres claimed in a single village of Honavada,” he had said.