19 hours ago
Last Updated:April 03, 2025, 08:26 IST
CNN-News18 has reviewed a copy of the letter written by Indira Gandhi on March 26,1976 --- during the Emergency --- to six chief ministers and the then LG of Delhi
Indira Gandhi cited “three concrete suggestions” that the Congress had been making since 1961 for quick settlement of such cases. (Shutterstock)
The Narendra Modi government is bringing in the Waqf Amendment Law to restore government land which has been claimed as Waqf, but the Indira Gandhi government in 1976 had done the opposite. Then PM Indira Gandhi had asked states to vacate and restore ‘Waqf properties’ to the Waqf Board urgently.
CNN-News18 has reviewed a copy of the letter written by Indira Gandhi on March 26,1976, to six chief ministers and the then LG of Delhi. The letter has been featured on the official website of Waqf, the WAMSI Project. She said the matter required urgent attention of the chief ministers.
“For a variety of reasons, including unsettled conditions after partition, a large number of wakf properties have gone into the adverse possession of private parties as well as State Government departments and local bodies. The Wakf Board could well start legal proceedings against the concerned State Government departments. Obviously, such litigation would not be desirable. Hence you should settle the issue on an administrative basis," the then PM wrote to the states.
She cited “three concrete suggestions" that the Congress had been making since 1961 for quick settlement of such cases, with the first option being that Waqf properties be handed over to the Waqf Board concerned by the state government.
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“i) Where feasible, the Wakf properties should be vacated and handed over to the Wakf Board concerned. ii) Where costly buildings have been put up on the land and their vacation is not feasible, the State Government may enter into permanent leases with the Wakf Boards, after paying to the Boards the bulk of the market value as premium; or iii) In the alternative, the State Governments may arrange to make over the fair market value of the lands to the Boards, which will relinquish their rights over the land, if in their direct management, or obtain from the Mutawallis concerned with their consent, the necessary deeds or relinquishment," said the letter.
Gandhi further wrote that she understood that “Wakf Boards have sent your government lists of wakf properties in the possession of Government departments and local bodies. Please see that these are dealt with as suggested above." She even asked for a periodic review and a monthly report be sent to her and to the Minister of Waqfs.
Rented Waqf Properties
Gandhi also wrote that most Waqf properties are leased out on very nominal rent which cannot be increased because of Rent Control Acts.
“In its Interim Report, the Wakf Inquiry Committee has suggested that all public wakfs serving a religious or charitable purpose or for that matter all public trust and endowments belonging to any community, should be exempted from the provisions of the Rent Control Acts," the then PM wrote.
She added that the committee “rightly felt" that Waqf, which are not meant to benefit individuals, should be treated differently from individual landlords.
“I understand that at the suggestion of the Centre, the States of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have already agreed to exempt public wakf properties from their respective Rent Control Acts. Please look into the possibility of making a similar exemption in your state," Gandhi wrote in the letter.
The then PM’s letter was written to Giani Zail Singh, CM, Punjab; BD Gupta, CM, Haryana; YS Parmar, CM, Himachal Pradesh; SB Chavan, CM, Maharashtra; SC Shukla, CM, Madhya Pradesh; Harideo Johi, CM, Rajasthan, and Krishan Chand, Lt. Governor of Delhi.
Location : First Published:April 03, 2025, 08:14 IST
News india Govt Land Can’t Be Waqf, Says Centre, But Indira Gandhi Directed Govt to Restore Properties To Waqf In 1976
