Auqaf-e-Shahi Bhopal has refuted all the charges leveled against it in a section of newspapers over Bada Bagh in last couple of days and also denied that any money has been taken by anyone belonging to or having connection with Auqaf-e-Shahi without receipt as being rumored.
Auqaf-e-Shahi secretary Azam Tirmizi and member ZU Alavi while talking to media persons here on Thursday said, “It is denied that any money has been taken by anyone belonging to or having connection with Auqaf-e-Shahi without receipt as being rumored. Nor the allotment is made in the space reserved for graveyard. Nor any of the part of the procedure followed by Auqaf-e-Shahi is in contravention of the Waqf Act, nor without any permission or sanction or approval required under law. The Collector and District Magistrate, Municipal Corporation as well as Waqf Board have been duly intimated about the aforesaid through a communication dated April 12, 2016 by the Aquaf-e-Shahi.”
Alavi said the Waqf plot of land commonly known as Bara Bagh Waqf was created in the year 1881 by Nawab Qudsia Begum the great great grandmother of the last Ruler of Bhopai State Nawab Hameed Ullah Khan. Besides, three water bodies (Bawadees) and a garden it had the graveyard for the burial of the members of the erstwhile royal family. The largest part of the land comprising 18 Acres along Berasia Road has been held to be garden area, the second part comprising 9 Acres was leased out in the year 1958 for 30 years and the balance 3.3 Acres comprises of the actual graveyard, he added.
The unauthorised encroachments on the first part of the garden area having been removed by the administration are now under physical possession and control of the Aquaf-e-Shahi. While plans for development of this part are afoot, with the primary objective to effectively control the possession of the open land as also to give temporary relief to the evicted small time vendors it has been decided to allot 10x10 feet and 10xl5 feet plot of land for being used to the said evictees on leave and license basis for the transitory period of 11 months only, after constructing temporary sheds thereon. The cost of the removable material used in erecting the temporary, sheds on demolition of the sheds has to be borne by the allottees who will be eligible to take away the said materials. The terms of the lease and license merely permit the usage of the premises at the discretion of Auqaf-e-Shahi and do not vest any right whatsoever on the part of the allotees in the plot of land.
In so far as allotment of the plot of land is concerned Auqaf-e-Shahi have duly complied with the procedure out lined vide para-4 of the Government of India Notification dated June 03, 2014 issued vide GOI-Extraordinary Gazette No:297 Part-11 , Section-3 (1) published on June 05, 2014. That is a general public notice was pasted at the site of allotment as also on the door of the nearby Mosque inviting applications from the persons interested duly indicating the preference to the erstwhile evictees. Thus the allotment process was completely in accordance with Section 51 and Section 56 (2) of the Waqf Act 1995. It is hereby specifically emphasized that letting out the premises on lease by Mutawalli for less than one year duration does not require any permission from Waqf Board.
It is also pointed out that allotment is not in the nature of giving of possession by the instrument of lease but merely a license for usage of the premises subject the conditions specified by Auqaf-e-Shahi in the leave & license letters.