30 pc Waqf property encroached by DDA, others: Board

“We have nearly 2,000 properties in Delhi. Of that, 70 per cent are in our possession and as much as 30 percent have been encroached by government agencies, primarily the DDA,” Khan told The Indian Express.

The Board also claimed to have increased its revenue — the rent received from various properties — from Rs 7 lakh per month to over Rs 50 lakh in the last one month.

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“The Board, apart from office-bearers, effectively has three working members. However, volunteers brought on board by the new Waqf chief have helped enhance the revenue collection,” said a Waqf employee.

The Okhla MLA was recently elected the chairman of the Board, which didn’t have a chief for over a year. The chairman had pledged to reclaim all Waqf properties and “invest the earnings of the Board into starting educational institutions for the Muslim community.”

On March 30, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla had taken serious note of the encroachment of Waqf land at various places and warned Waqf boards across the country to “perform or face dissolution.”