Telangana Wakf Board gets Rs 10.5 crore towards land compensation

As his five-year tenure as the Telangana State Wakf Board chairman will come to an end on Wednesday, Mohammed Saleem detailed the works carried out under his guidance.

Addressing the media during a press conference on Sunday, Wakf Board chairman Saleem informed about the development of the Board, protection of Wakf properties, removal of encroachments, renovation of mosques, welfare activities and others during his tenure from 2017 to January 2022.

He informed that the Wakf Board had generated Wakf fund of Rs 35 crore, institution income of Rs 90 crore and grant-in-aid of Rs 417 crore besides total bank balance of Rs 47 crore in the last five years.

Adding several measures were taken for the protection of Wakf properties including formation of Task Force teams, booking of FIRs against encroachers, cancellation of registrations, pattas and ORC's, Saleem said, "Several encroachments were removed from Wakf properties and over Rs 10.5 crore was received as land acquisition compensation from Municipality and Revenue departments. A total of 2,892 court cases are pending in different courts, including 12 in Supreme Court, 1,431 in State High Court and 1,016 in Wakf Tribunal."

Speaking about his biggest achievements, Saleem said that the centuries-old mosques which were neglected for decades, were renovated. These include Qutub Shahi mosques in Khanamet, Nadergul, Golconda, Malkam Cheruvu, Maheshwaram, Toopran and Shameerpet.

The developmental activities with grant-in-aid, the construction of multi-storey complex of Anees-ul-Ghurba orphanage with an amount of Rs 20 crore which is under construction and the completed construction of Jamia Nizamia Auditorium Rs 14 crore were taken up under his tenure.

Explaining about the welfare activities of the Board, Saleem said that Rs 31 to 84 lakh were distributed for the financial and medical assistance to poor and needy suffering from cancer, kidney and heart problems and also for Covid-19 patients. For the maintenance of 356 divorcee women, Rs 4 crore were spent since 2014.

With regard to release of honorariums for 9,900 Imams and Muezzins, he said since 2016, an amount of Rs 214 crore was distributed till the month of December 2021.