Waqf Scandal: What is happening in Karnataka?

Wakf or waqf is an Islamic charitable endowment which is internationally in vouge since several centuries.  Waqf is a  special kind  of philanthropic deed in perpetuity. It involves a fixed  asset which can fetch a monetary return. The benefit  generated  serves Islamic  community.  The  Karnaataka State Wakf Board is a statutory  body under  central act. About  50 thousand wakf  properties are registered  with it. The  wakf board has got powers to control all the wakf  institutions. The government gives annual grants  to maintain  these wakf properties. 

This minority  institution  is  now running with a total  4 lakh crore  scandal which is over two decade old issue. The  market  value may be  10 times more than that of estimated  value. A PIL petition  pending  in highcourt wants  a CBI enquiry to  be conducted to find out the true culprits of  the scandal of misusing and disposal of  wakf properties. No governments since 1998 Supreme Court judgment have not taken any  serious action on this mega scam. It has noticed that no wakf properties can be disposed. Once it is  a wakf property  means always it is wakf property.  Even if it indisposed, it has to come back to wakf fold. Not even land reforms acts are applicable to  it. 

 In 2012, a 7000 pages report was submitted to the then chief  minister DV Sadananda Gowda of B J P by Anwar Mannippadi  and it was passed in the cabinet meeting  held  on March16, 2013. Later it was published  in gazette on May 10, 2013. Inspite, this report was not  placed in the legislature for various  reasons. Afterwards during Jagadish Shettar regime, it was handed over  to lokayukta for fact finding. Lokayukta endorsed the  recommendations of  Mannippadi  report. Congress - JDS Coalition hushed it up to save  the culprits. It is evident that to protect the influential  politicians the report was suppressed. We will hope  that the highcourt would order for a CBI investigation. 

Finally, BJP government lead by BS Yediyurappa had made guts to table it in the legislature on September 24,2020  eight years after it was submitted. The names  of Congress legislators NA Harris, Tanveer Sait, Kaneez Fatima,  member of Legeslative  Council CM Ibrahim, Rajya Sabha opposition  leader Mallikarjuna Kearse, former Rajya Sabha deputy  chairman Rehman Khan and disqualified MLA R Roshan Baig, among others features  in the report. This is embarrassing congress though it maintains the report was politically  motivated  and  far from truth. Hence  previous Siddaramaiah government of Congress didn't tabled  an action  taken report on the findings, categorically  rejecting  them. So, Yediyurappa  government is trying  to give fresh  life in to the scandal much  bigger  than 2G scam. 

The scandal involves about 3000 acres of wakf land either encroached or sold out to private  parties. The alleged  wakf land mafia sold the huge priceless property in Bidar, Kalaburgi, Bengaluru,  Koppel and Ramanagara. The report  says  this is  a tip of iceberg. If CBI enquiry  is ordered into  this  mafia, many more skeletons would come out.