For 8 Years, Wakf Land Records Locked Under Revenue Dept

Hyderabad: The murder of Waqf activist and High Court advocate Khaja Moizuddin has intensified demands for opening the locked ‘record room’ of Waqf land records, with a large group of Muslims seeking greater transparency and access to Wakf documents.

The record room in the Haj House has remained under restricted access for over eight years. It was taken over by the revenue department in 2017 during the previous BRS government, with access allowed only through prior permission, a move critics say has affected the Waqf Board’s ability to present documents in court.

Muslim community elders described the murder of Moizuddin as a “wake-up call” and urged the government to ensure transparency in Waqf administration. Some of them have also called for a probe into the movement of records and measures to curb alleged irregularities.

“It was in the year 2017, the record room was seized by the revenue department and remains in their control. The board has lost several cases, as it was unable to produce the required documents on time. Acres of land have already been lost in the heart of the city,” said advocate Taraq Quadri, former Member of AP State Minorities Commission.

“The murder of Moizuddin should be an eye-opener to the government. Unless there is accountability, land grabbers will benefit from their organised loot. When the Waqf mafia is silencing the voices of those who are questioning, what more does the government need? There should be a review of Waqf at the earliest,” he argued.

SC, ST, BC and Muslim Front chairman M Sanaullah Khan said concerns over Waqf land holdings have persisted since Telangana’s formation. “People are not sure whether those lands are secure, particularly after locking up the record room. Even Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, before coming to power, had raised concerns about shrinking Waqf lands under the BRS regime and had promised to come up with tough laws. If the present government is sincere, it should conduct a thorough inquiry into what the previous government had aimed for by locking up and conducting auditing and inventory to find out missing documents, if any,” he said.

Waqf officials, however, said the record room was not fully inaccessible and remained available with prior approval. “We are not saying that it is totally sealed or seized. The record room is very much accessible to the Waqf Board, but it is under the control of the district collector. Documents are very much accessible, and we are filing in the court of law. There is no bar or hindrance because it is under the control of the collector. A tahsildar is posted here, and he is looking after that,” a senior official said.