JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal visited Vijayapura in Karnataka and received petitions from farmers over waqf land dispute | Bangalore

After controversy erupted over the Waqf land issue in Karnataka, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill Jagdambika Pal visited and held a meeting with farmers whose lands were declared as “Wakf property” in Karnataka.

The JPC Chairman visited Vijayapura at the request of JPC member and Bengaluru South MP Tejaswi Surya to understand the concerns of farmers regarding their agricultural lands being claimed by the Wakf Board.

After interacting with the farmers, the JPC Chairman said that he had received a memorandum from the farmers and would present it before the JPC.

“The farmers met us and gave us a memorandum and said that they had been farming on this land for centuries and they had the deeds to the land, but now we are receiving notice from the board. So, we will submit a memorandum to the JPC,” Jagdambika Pal said while interacting with the media on Thursday.

BJP MP Basanaguda Patil Yatnal, who was present during Pal’s visit, said, “JPC Chairman and Tejaswi Surya visited today and we have demanded that all waqf properties be declared as national property and they have assured us that our demands will be to be discussed at the JPC meeting. And all farmer delegations will be called to Delhi and will be heard.”

The Vijayapura district of Karnataka is witnessing a significant rise in land claims by the Waqf Board affecting the ancestral lands of farmers, temples, government buildings and even monuments under the central protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

This situation has caused serious concern among local farmers and landowners who are seeing their land rights being contested without proper notice or due process.

In Vijayapura district alone, more than 15,000 acres of land are claimed, including ancestral agricultural lands that are vital to local farmers. According to a press statement, more than 1,500 acres of agricultural land under 89 survey numbers in Honawada village in Tikota Taluk alone have been unilaterally declared as Wakf property.

Many farmers in Babaleshwar Taluka have also received notices that their lands are now classified as Waqf properties under the Waqf Act. The claims extend to mongrel temples and lands such as Someshvara Temple (Chalukyan era) and Virakta Mutt (12th century), the statement added.

MP Tejaswi Surya last week asked the JPC chairman to visit Vijayapura and look into the plight of farmers under the Congress government in Karnataka. Addressing the media on the occasion of the visit, Surya said, “I am grateful to JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal for taking the time to meet farmers of Vijayapura, Hubballi, Belagavi and other regions of North Karnataka to understand the problem of their agricultural lands being illegally claim them. Waqf Council.”

“The exponential rise in cases in Karnataka of State Waqf Board claiming agricultural land comes at a time when the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is meeting to discuss reforms. for the Waqf Act 1995. Karnataka Minority Affairs and Waqf Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan conducted ‘Waqf Adalats’ in several In some parts of the state, such Waqf Adalats do not have a valid status under the Constitution or any rules of the Revenue Department,” he added.

“Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have raised the voice of such farmers and demanded that changes in revenue records including unilateral changes in RTC, mutations and Pahani made even without informing the concerned property owners should be withdrawn and unconstitutional waqf adalats should be immediately discontinued. However, CM Siddaramaiah made only symbolic statements about reversing any recent changes made in the income records of waqf adalats. has been stopped and notices have not yet been withdrawn to all concerned farmers,” Surya further said.

In Vijayapura district, out of 4373 waqf sites, there are only 14 schools, 2 hostels, 7 colleges and 1 orphanage, while the rest are 1311 mosques, 649 dargahs, 583 cemeteries and 23 madrassas. Moreover, since 2005, the Wakf Board has claimed 43 ASI-protected properties in Vijayapura, including Gol Gumbaz and Ibrahim Roza.

There have been encroachments and unauthorized construction on these sites, which has affected their historical value. ASI’s requests to correct the records were ignored, allegedly under the influence of the Waqf Board.