Tamil Nadu residents issued notice to pay rent for living on Waqf land

The Waqf Board has asserted ownership of a village with 60 families in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, stating that the land has belonged to it since 1955 and requested the residents to pay rent. Subsequently, the residents contacted the government, stating that they have inhabited the area for generations, according to officials familiar with the situation on Tuesday.

The event occurred just days after the Waqf (Amendment) Act came into effect on April 5, with the DMK-led Tamil Nadu administration vocally opposing its approval. The Syed Ali Sultan Shah Dargah in Virinchipuram has sent notices to 60 families in Kattukollai village in Vellore.

“Most of them are joint families and there are about 150 of them. They have occupied around 5 acres out of the 6.5 acres of Waqf land,” F Syed Sadam, the mutawalli (administrator) of the dargah told the media speaking from Vellore.

“The remaining land has been rented out to commercial properties who have been paying us,” Sadam said, adding that their records showed that the land belongs to the Waqf from 1955, but the government district records could show an older date.

When asked why then the notice was issued to the residents only recently before the law was enforced, Sadam said that he had taken over from his father, Syed Farooz after his death as a hereditary mutawalli three years ago and is continuing what his father started. “Most of the families occupied this land in the 1990s which is when my father had first asked them to pay rent for the land,” Sadam said.

“Before that, it was just agricultural land. But, there was no progress, so my father met officials in this connection. After I took over, I approached the CEO of the Waqf Board and the officials, and now I have begun to speak to the residents but they are not ready to pay,” he said, adding that though the rentals have not been fixed, he is seeking arrears from 1955.

The issue came to light after functionaries of the Hindu Munnani took the villagers to the Vellore district collector’s office. “The district administration has issued documents for the land saying that it is owned by the government,” Praveen Kumar, a functionary of Hindu Munnani told news agency . “We don’t believe the claims by the Waqf Board.”

The district collector VR Subbulaxmi told that six residents met her twice over the issue on April 11 and April 15 with a petition. “The district revenue officer is inquiring about the issue and it will take some time,” Subbulaxmi said.