ABRAR MATTOO
SRINAGAR, Feb 10: Though the anti encroachment drive, launched by Jammu and Kashmir government to retrieve State land is appreciated by one and all except the influential land grabbers; questions are being asked about 9000 Kanals of Waqf Land that has been encroached by a mighty and powerful class in the Union Territory.
According to various Waqaf documents, available with Kashmir Despatch, nearly 9000 Kanals of land belonging to Jammu and Kashmir Waqaf Board has either been encroached or stands illegally occupied in the Kashmir region.
The Board has not revealed any manner of data or names of these encroachers and illegal occupants. Although 80 percent of the Waqaf properties (15,109 out of 19,888) were geotagged by April last year, no action followed against the encroachers, and the situation remains the same amidst the heightened ongoing land situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
On August 25, 2022, the Principal Secretary to the Government Shaleen Kabra, issued an order whereby a one-month timeline was fixed to remove all the encroachments of the Waqaf properties in Jammu and Kashmir. The order met the deadline, same as countless orders before.
The J&K Wakf board has nearly 99,653 Kanals of land in the Kashmir region, out of which 9,000 Kanals of prime land stands either illegally occupied, or has been encroached by the leaseholders.
Ironically, the existing 90653 Kanals of land that remain leased out in Kashmir valley are also not generating the due revenue. According to the figures published on Wakf website in 2018, which remains non-functional at the moment, Wakf received a yearly rent of Rs. 98 and 98 Paisa on every Kanal of prime land in Kashmir valley. This quantum of land is so huge that is equal to 17.1% of the total land area in Srinagar.
The reason that such a huge quantum of land is generating such meager revenue is because the prime land has been leased in the past few decades at a throwaway price to either relatives of former ministers or as political favors to workers of different political parties. This is evident from the recommendations of government panel formed in 2012 that recommended “criminal investigation” into the systematic “counterfeit leasing” of prized agricultural land to the close relatives of National Conference on cheap prices by the J&K Waqaf Board.
The same remains the condition of other properties of the Jammu and Kashmir Waqaf Board which is the second largest asset-rich organization after the government in the Union Territory.
According to data available with the Kashmir Despatch, apart from prime properties like hotel Taj at Lal Chowk, Hotel Gulmarag at Boulevard Srinagar, and houses at Gupkar Srinagar, the Waqaf Board owns around 170 buildings, 1453 shops, 1400 rooms, over 30 showrooms, 86 sets, 50 halls, besides dozens of other assets. Many of these properties also remain illegally occupied, especially by the rich and the powerful.
In 2016, the government of Jammu and Kashmir informed the Legislative Assembly that besides a rich number of hotels and buildings, the Waqaf board owns a total of 1453 shops, out of which one thousand are in Srinagar city alone.
Ironically, by investigating the Waqaf books of that year, the Board earned an amount of Rs. 2 crores and 1 lakh on all of its buildings and shops. If it is assumed that the Board did not earn a single penny from all the other properties, and take only the rent earned from shops in account, it would only amount to Rs. 13836 as yearly rent in 2016. But that is not the case—the Board has innumerous properties other than the shops.
According to the official figures available with Kashmir Despatch, there are 19888 waqaf properties in the 10 districts of the Kashmir division. Srinagar district has the highest number of waqaf properties (4179), followed by Baramulla (3224), Budgam (3152), Anantnag (2998), Pulwama (2250), Kulgam (1398), Ganderbal (1138), Kupwara (557), Shopian (532) and Bandipora (460).
Last year, Dr. Darakhshan Andrabi, chairperson of the Waqaf Board said that “there was such a monopoly made in the functioning of Waqaf that tenants were paying Rs. 36, Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 as rent as they were having the patronage of leaders and political parties.”
Dr. Andrabi said that such a monopoly will not be allowed anymore, and everything will be streamlined in the Waqaf Board. However, she is yet to come true to her promise, said a lawyer, pleading anonymity. When Kashmir Despatch tried to reach Dr. Darakhsan Andrabi for comments, she was not available.
