The lack of clarity about the status of Wakf lands in Visakhapatnam and the amount collected by the Wakf Board for the land allotted to Hinduja Power Corporation Limited led to heated exchanges between members and the Minority Welfare Minister Mohammed Ahmedullah in the Legislative Council here on Monday.
The Minister, who was responding to a question from Mohd. Jani (Congress) said that out of 5,385 acres of Wakf land in Visakhapatnam, 1,122 acres were allotted to Hindujas by the government in 1999 as it was presumed that the land belonged to the Revenue Department. The land was allotted to Hindujas at Rs. 2.25 lakh per acre.
However, the Wakf Board staked claim for the land and went to High Court and later to Supreme Court, where it got the judgement in its favour. Subsequently, former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in 2008 convened a meeting of the Revenue and Wakf Board for resolving the issue. It was decided to pay the Board the price fixed earlier along with interest ranging from 9 to 15 per cent, which amounted to Rs. 37 crore, and register the land.
Registration challenged
Mr. Ahmedullah said that the registration was cancelled when the MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi went to tribunal challenging the registration. Following this, the Hinduja Power Corporation obtained a stay from the High Court where the case was pending.
Mr. Jani insisted that the Minister specify how much of 5,385 acres Wakf land was distributed and to whom. The Minister said he had details about the land allotment to Hinduja and would furnish other details to the member in the Chambers of Chairman.