Waqf Board demolishes encroachments on graveyard land

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: In a bold action first of its kind, the Maharashtra State Board of Wakfs (MSBW) removed encroachments that came up on a graveyard land at Bangaon village of the tehsil, on August 17.

It may be noted the land of MSBW was encroached on at different places in the State. In some places, the properties of Waqf were sold after registration by land mafias.

Newly appointed chief executive officer (CEO) Moin Tashildar has set a plan to take the Waqf properties under their possession.

He took possession of the seven acres of the land of graveyard at Bangaon village of the tehsil on August 17. What is significant is that the Board has never taken such bold action in the past.

Nana Appagire, Azhar Bandu, Yunus Bandu, Ayyub Bandu, Nasir Bandu and Mahmud Bandu encroached on the land (gut no160) at Bangaon. The Waqf Board has given a letter to the Gram Panchayat to remove encroachment in 2019 In this regard. The correspondence with the Land Records Department and the Superintendent of Police was also done. The action was delayed for four years due to non-availability of police protection.

In 2021, MP Imtiaz Jaleel had also given a letter to the then-CEO of the Board Anis Shaikh to take over the cemetery land in possession immediately. Following the orders of CEO Moin Tashildar, District Waqf Officer Asif Mutwalli, Ehatsham Shaikh, Anwar Khan, a Land Records officer, a police officer and staff under the guidance of Deputy CEO Junaid Syed on August 17, removed the encroachments came up on seven acres of land through a bulldozer. The problem of the graveyard of the Muslim community has been solved

due to this action.