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With bypolls staring Congress in face, Govt orders withdrawal of Waqf notices issued to farmers

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The State Government has govern a stern order to all revenue authorities to withdraw immediately all notices issued to farmers and other citizens asserting Waqf Board's ownership of their farmland and other assets with three assembly seats headed for bypolls on November 13.

The Opposition BJP and JDS have turned the Waqf Board's notices to farmers as a major campaign issue, seeking to put the Congress regime on the defensive.

The government also ordered the authorities to stop any changes in the mutation of farmlands and desist from harassing farmers.


The government also withdrew its notifications dated April 15 and April 23 on the subject and promised action on the officials who issued a reminder on November 7 to all authorities to pursue the Waqf notices.


The November 7 reminder came even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been maintaining that his government would not evict farmers from their land.

His statements came in the middle of the visit of Jagdambika Pal, chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (amendment) Bill, 2024, visit Hubballi, Vijayapura and Belagavi on Thursday and interaction with affected farmers and their delegations.

JPC member Tejasvi Surya had said around 50,000 acres of land had been affected by the Waqf notices.

MoS Shobha Karandlaje and BJP MPs Ramesh Jigajinagi and Narayanaswamy Bandage (RS) and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil (Yatnal) have been sitting on dharna in Vijayapura demanding withdrawal of notices issued to farmers.

In a letter to the JPC chairman, Karandlaje said Waqf authorities have claimed even crucial government offices such as the SP, DC and District Hospital at Vijayapura. These claims were based on a deeply flawed process that lacked transparency and documentation, threatening thousands of acres in Vijayapura alone. Farmers and other residents, many of whom belong to marginalized communities, were receiving revenue notices that disregard natural justice, she said.

The NDA government had, on August 8, introduced two bills, the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, in the Lok Sabha which, the government said, would streamline the Waqf Board's work and ensure the efficient management of Waqf properties.

Wakf Boards currently control 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India with an estimated value of 1.2 lakh crores. India has the largest waqf holding in the World. Further, Waqf Board is the largest landowner in India after the Armed Forces and the Indian Railways, according to an explainer put out by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

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