Kerala CM Promises To Protect Residents, Their Land

Around 600 families in Munambam, a coastal area near Kochi, have been fighting for revenue rights over land claimed by the Waqf Board, with the matter still pending in court. The issue took a new twist on Monday when Chief Minister V D Satheeshan alleged that the registration was carried out by the politically appointed Waqf Board of the previous CPM-led LDF government, accusing the Left of pushing the Sangh Parivar’s agenda to create divisions between two communities in the area.

The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church also voiced its stance through its mouthpiece, Deepika daily, criticising the registration of the land on the central Waqf portal. It called for immediate intervention from the newly elected UDF government, recalling Satheeshan’s earlier claim that the Munambam issue could be resolved within “10 minutes” if the UDF came to power.

At the Cabinet briefing, Satheesan said the registration of the land on the Umeed portal had complicated the matter and pushed it beyond the scope of a quick settlement. The chief minister, however, assured that the government would continue the legal battle and promised that none of the affected families would be evicted.

Satheesan reminded that all ministers in the previous LDF government had visited Munambam and assured the agitators they would not be evicted from the area. Unfortunately, the Sangh Parivar has been trying to create a divide between the two communities, and the previous LDF government also acted in a way that directly advanced the Sangh Parivar agenda.

The chief minister said the government would explore all legal options and remedies to protect the residents “We will fight this legally. We’ve decided that these residents will not be evicted; they will be protected and will receive their land. We will fight until the end, as that was our position while in opposition,” he said.

Satheesan said once the land is registered in the Waqf portal, all poor residents will be labelled as encroachers.

A day earlier, Kerala State Waqf Board chairman K.S. Hamza reiterated that there was no dispute over the Munambam land being Waqf property and said the registration on the Umeed portal was meant to safeguard such assets. He added that even disputed properties considered by the Board as Waqf assets had been registered on the portal.

The BJP, which has been supporting the agitating residents, also urged the chief minister to keep his promise. They claimed that the amended Waqf Act would help address their concerns.

Former state BJP president K. Surendran said reports about the Waqf Board notifying the Munambam land as Waqf property had created anxiety among residents.

Munambam land dispute

The Munambam Waqf land dispute revolves around a 404-acre coastal stretch in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, impacting around 600 families, mainly from Latin Catholic Christian and Hindu fishing communities.

Residents say they have lived on the land for generations, paid taxes, and held valid title deeds. The conflict began when the Kerala State Waqf Board claimed ownership of the property, declaring it waqf land and freezing transactions, sparking fears of eviction among locals.

The roots of the dispute trace back to 1950, when landowner Mohammed Siddique Sait transferred the property to the management committee of Farooq College in Kozhikode.

Although the deed described the transfer as a Waqf endowment for educational purposes, it also allowed the college to manage, sell, and alienate parts of the property. Over the years, Farook College sold plots to current residents.

In 2019, the Waqf board registered the entire area as a Waqf asset under Islamic law, claiming that once land is dedicated as Waqf property, it permanently belongs to God and cannot be legally sold or transferred. The board argued this made the residents’ title deeds invalid.

The dispute sparked widespread agitation and nearly reached a communal flashpoint in Kerala.

A significant legal development came when the Kerala High Court, in an interim relief, ruled that the Waqf board’s unilateral 2019 declaration was “bad in law.” The HC observed that the original 1950 deed allowed the college to sell the land and therefore lacked the permanent and inalienable dedication required for a valid Waqf. The matter is now pending before the Supreme Court.