Telangana State Waqf Board locked in tangles

Despite nearly five years, TSWB has not succeeded in getting its own records’ room, reports Syed Mohammed

Come November, it will be five years since the State government sealed the records’ room of the Telangana State Waqf Board (TSWB), a panel that deals with the administration of Muslim endowments.

The Waqf Board also looks into issues concerning the protection of waqf properties, including by means of litigation.

It, therefore, comes as a surprise that despite nearly five years, the TSWB, which is an autonomous body, has not succeeded in getting its own records’ room, a place where crucial unsealed records are stored. The board is yet to take its full possession from the Revenue department which, reportedly acting on the instructions of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had sealed it in the presence of police.

The issue of partial accessibility resurfaced only recently after TSWB member, elected under the mutawali (manager of waqf institutions) category, Abul Fatah Syed Bandagi Badesha Quadri, shared with the media a letter that he wrote to the government.

In the letter, he requested the CM to take steps to unseal the records’ room. He claimed that the board and its officers not having immediate access to relevant records is a cause of concern, and has been posing problems, especially when documents regarding properties in litigation are required.

While on the one hand, a section of TSWB staff maintains that permission is required from the Revenue department, and the Tahsildar, in particular, to access these records, on the other hand, they said that this new process is not much of a hassle. But, the questions that arise out of Mr. Quadri’s representation appear valid: For how long will the records’ room remain sealed? And what measures has the board taken to reverse the situation?

“We are facing a lot of problems. The board, its members and officers, should have direct access to waqf records,” Mr. Quadri told The Hindu. “Broadly speaking, the Waqf Board is fighting cases against encroachers of small land parcels. In few other cases that are connected to larger land, it is fighting or has fought cases against the government and its agencies.”