Hyderabad
The Telangana State Waqf Board (TGWB) is sticking to its stand that the 2,500 square yard plot in Shaikpet, now disputed as defense land, is a waqf property.
The land gains prominence in the run-up to the Jubilee Hills elections, when the Telangana government and TGWB earmarked the land as a graveyard following several representations from the constituency’s Muslim community.
But soon after ministers including district in-charge and transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar and minority welfare minister Adluri Laxman and other politicians made the announcement, army personnel declared the land as defense land.
“Our team recently went and met army officials and showed them documents that support the nature of the land as a waqf land,” TGWB Chairman Syed Azmatullah Husseni told The Hindu.
“We will look into the matter further. We are also in touch with tax department officials. We maintain that the land is waqf land.”
Those in the know said one method to dispute the military’s claims is to request a site inspection, examine all related documents with each party and the extent of land listed therein, and confirm those findings with actual conditions on the ground. They added that this can be done by involving the district collector’s office and conducting a joint inspection with all the three parties.
The land has become a contentious issue ahead of the polls with independent candidate Salman Khan, who heads the Hyderabad Youth Courage, the Congress and the BRS commenting on it at length. Both the BRS and Mr Khan criticized the Congress government after army officers questioned the government’s allotment of land as a cemetery.
BRS leader and former IT minister KT Rama Rao, Telangana Residential Educational Institutions Society president Faheem Qureshi and others exchanged barbs over the issue.
Earlier this month, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi said he would step in and do his best to secure land for a graveyard for Muslims from the area, considering it a long-standing demand.
Published – 16 Oct 2025 21:24 IST
