Wakf Board asks admn to free up encroached mosques
GURUGRAM: The Haryana Wakf Board on Sunday submitted a list of 19 mosques in Gurugram that are not in use either due to illegal possession, encroachments or opposition by locals.
The list was issued a day after Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that, ideally, namaz should be offered in a mosque.
The board was asked by the district administration to issue the list. The move comes in the wake of continued protests by members of right-wing organisations against offering namaz in open spaces in Gurugram.
The letter states that mosques in Gurugram are few and far between. Moreover, the situation is exacerbated by the shortage of space due to the encroachment of Wakf properties in these areas, which compels people to offer namaz in open spaces.
The estate officer of the Haryana Wakf Board, Jamaluddin Jamal, who submitted the list, has sought cooperation from the administration in freeing the properties from illegal possession and encroachment. The board has also demanded that police protection be provided to those offering prayers at these places.
“The mosques in Gurugram are not sufficient to cater to the increasing number of migrants, who come here for work. If the administration can secure these mosques, we will pitch in and ensure that the mosques become functional again,” Jamal said.
In the letter, Jamal also refers to an area of over 2.5 acres in village Choma that is currently under the control of Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda).
The land was acquired by Huda in 2005, following which the Wakf Board had filed a case in the high court. In 2016, the high court, in its verdict, asked Huda to either release the land or give another land to the Wakf Board as a replacement.
“It has been two years now, but so far, Huda hasn’t proposed an alternative land to us. We hope that some action is taken so that there are more spaces for people to offer namaz. If the people can go to mosques in their vicinity, the issue of offering namaz on roads will not arise and the matter can be amicably resolved,” Jamal said.
On May 4, the district administration had asked the Haryana Wakf Board to identify properties where prayers could be offered, without hindrance, by the Muslims.
Huda administrator Chandra Shekhar Khare, who is officiating as the deputy commissioner, said the administration has received the letter along with the list.
“Yes, we have received a list from the Wakf Board. I have directed the tehsildar concerned and naib tehsildar to check the present status and report by tomorrow,” Khare said.
On April 26, the police had arrested six people accused of disrupting namaz on a vacant plot in Sector 43 on April 20.