Only Notified Parts of Waqf Monuments Fall Under ASI: Board

Hyderabad: All Muslim religious places located within protected areas are registered as Waqf institutions, according to the Telangana State Waqf Board.

Waqf Board chief executive officer Md. Asadullah clarified that only monuments notified under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act), are treated as protected.

“Even if a monument stands on Waqf land, only the specifically declared protected portion comes under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the State Heritage Department. The remaining land attached to it continues to belong to the Waqf,” he said.

Citing the example of seven tombs spread across 103 acres of Waqf land, Asadullah said only 42 acres fall under the Heritage Department’s control, and this limit cannot be expanded. Similarly, the Shah Raju Dargah at Misrigunj sits on nearly 500 acres, but the department maintains only the monument itself, he noted.

As part of the ongoing Waqf property registration on the Umeed portal, all heritage-related Waqf properties are also being uploaded. Under the Act, any protected monument requires an agreement between the Waqf Board and the Heritage Department, along with a government order.

Waqf Board member Abul Fateh Syed Bandagi Badesha Quadri said that attached property will always remain Waqf, and only the protected portion, such as the pathway, fencing or defined area, comes under ASI’s purview.

He added that all notified Waqf properties in historical or protected sites will be uploaded on the portal, even if their nature cannot be altered. He clarified that if a protected monument or protected area under the 1904 or 1958 Acts was already declared Waqf at the time of notification, such a declaration is invalid.

Several Waqf monuments fall under ASI's control, including the mosque on the Charminar’s terrace, five mosques inside Golconda Fort, and two mosques and a graveyard at Naya Qila. Likewise, around 30 mosques and 50 tombs, including Maqbaras, an Eidgah and two graveyards of the Shia and Sunni communities, within the Qutub Shahi Tombs complex are maintained jointly by the heritage department and the Waqf Board.

Waqf activist Mohammad Habeebuddin said an in-charge or inspector should be appointed to preserve the significance of all Muslim religious places located within ASI and heritage department-protected areas, with involvement from the Waqf Board.

He pointed out that more than 80 uninhabited Qutub Shahi and Alamgiri mosques across GHMC limits lack caretakers and are not protected monuments, and urged the Waqf Board to restore them.

He said all Muslim places of worship, mosques, dargahs, tombs, eidgahs, chillas and graveyards, located in archaeological sites and already notified as Waqf institutions must be uploaded on the Umeed portal, with Waqf officials appointed alongside ASI staff to ensure proper maintenance.

Meanwhile, the Waqf Board CEO has written to the heritage department seeking a complete list of protected monuments in the state.