Minister for Housing, Waqf and Minorities BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan informed the Karnataka Legislative Assembly that more than 1.12 lakh acres have been donated to the Waqf Board over time, but currently the board has control over only 20,054 acres.
He said on Monday (March 16) that 17,969 acres of Waqf land in the state had been encroached upon by members of the Muslim community.
Responding to a question raised by Congress member MY Patil during question hour, Mr Khan said the council had lost 23,627 acres after the implementation of land reforms. He reiterated that Hindu temples did not encroach on any property of the Waqf Board.
Waqf adalats
The minister said that he has conducted several waqf adalats to address complaints and disputes related to illegal encroachments and land management and efforts are underway to remove such encroachments.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok entered the discussion and urged the government to stop the board’s alleged encroachment on government land. He cited an example from Chikkaballapur, which alleged that land belonging to the school where M. Visvesvaraya studied had been encroached upon by the Waqf Board.
Mr. Ashok also urged the minister to direct the Waqf Board to reclaim the land on which Windsor Manor operates in Bengaluru.
Cemetery ground
Responding to another question by BJP member Prabhu B. Chavan, Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said that religious minorities were unhappy due to lack of land for graveyards.
He noted that Muslim and Christian communities are burying their dead and due to the inability to provide enough land for burial grounds in several parts of the state, members of these communities are expressing dissatisfaction with the government.
Published – 16 March 2026 21:07 IST
