Waqf Board Asserts Rights Over Attached Lands In Heritage Sites

Hyderabad: All Muslim religious places located within protected areas, under archaeology-related legislations, are registered as Waqf institutions, the Telangana Waqf Board has said.

Waqf Board chief executive officer Md. Asadullah clarified that only monuments notified under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act, 1958, are treated as protected. “Even if a monument stands on Waqf land, only the specific portion declared as protected will fall under the control of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) or the state heritage department. The ownership of the remaining attached land continues to remain with the Waqf,” he said.

Citing an example, he noted that seven Qutb Shahi tombs spread across 103 acres of Waqf land include only 42 acres under the heritage department’s protection, and this limit cannot be extended. Similarly, the Shah Raju Dargah at Misri Gunj has around 500 acres, but the department is responsible only for the upkeep of the monument, he added.

As part of the ongoing Waqf property registration drive on the Umeed portal, all heritage-related Waqf properties are also being registered. 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 emphasised that the attached property will remain Waqf-owned. Only pathways, fencing and the core protected area fall under the ASI’s purview. He said all notified Waqf properties in historical and protected sites, whose nature cannot be altered, will be uploaded to the portal. “Heritage sites are of historical importance and are maintained by the Heritage Department or ASI,” he said.

He clarified that while the attached property remains Waqf, any declaration of a protected monument or protected area under the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904, or the AMASR Act, 1958, becomes void if it conflicts with the Waqf status at the time of notification.

A mosque on the Charminar terrace, five mosques inside the Golconda Fort, and two mosques along with a graveyard inside the Naya Qila are currently under ASI control.

Around 30 mosques and 50 tombs, including maqbaras with Eidgahs and two graveyards belonging to Shia and Sunni communities inside 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 safeguard all Muslim religious places located within ASI and heritage department-protected areas, with direct involvement of the Waqf Board.

He noted that more than 80 uninhabited Qutub Shahi and Alamgiri-era mosques within GHMC limits have no caretakers and lack protected status. These mosques, he said, should also be restored by the Waqf Board.

He added that all Muslim places of worship, including mosques, dargahs, tombs, eidgahs, chillas and graveyards, located within archaeological sites and already recognised as Waqf institutions, should be uploaded on the Umeed portal. Waqf officials should be appointed, alongside ASI authorities, to ensure proper maintenance.

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