Will buy own ‘Dhakad Dhami’ bulldozer, free properties from encroachments: Uttarakhand Waqf chief

BJP leader Mohammad Shadab Shams was Wednesday elected unopposed as the new president of Uttarakhand Waqf Board

BJP leader Mohammad Shadab Shams (Right) with Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami (Facebook/Shadab Shams)

Soon after being elected unopposed as the new president of Uttarakhand Waqf Board, Mohammad Shadab Shams, a BJP leader, on Wednesday said that the Board’s main priority will be to free Waqf properties from illegal possession and encroachment, and they will buy their own bulldozer to ensure this.

Stating that the Board has discussed the issue with Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Shams told The Indian Express, “We are bringing a proposal to run the bulldozer of ‘Dhakad Dhami’ (Fearless Dhami) and the Waqf Board will purchase its own bulldozer.”

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Shams, who has served BJP in different capacities and is also a party spokesperson, was handed over the certificate of unopposed election by Principal Secretary (Minority Welfare) L Fanai at the Dehradun Secretariat.

A Waqf Board is a legal organisation that ensures appropriate administration of Waqf properties, and to oversee that any revenue generated by them is being used in line with Muslim principles and law.

“According to a survey conducted after Uttarakhand was formed, there are properties worth approximately Rs 1.5 lakh crore under the Waqf Board,” Shams told The Indian Express. “A lot of these properties are under illegal possession. These properties are for the poor. Our main priority is to free these properties.”

He said, “We will run a bulldozer on Waqf mafias and those involved in encroachment. We have our own tribunal and our own court to free our properties — what we did not have so far is the will power.”

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On the discussion with the Chief Minister, Shams said, “The Board thanked him and we informed him that we will bring the proposal to buy our own bulldozer in the next Board meeting. When freed, these properties will be used to improve our education system. We will open our own schools and colleges so that our children get the right education and the community can benefit from that. The Waqf Board will also ensure that madrasas under it have English-medium education, and as per the [syllabus of] Uttarakhand Board.”

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Shams said the Waqf Board will convert these madrasas into schools and “prepare a system so that even Hindu students can study there”.

Earlier in the day, all 10 members of the Waqf Board voted for their president and unanimously elected Shams in the presence of Principal Secretary Fanai. The state Waqf Board did not have a president for the last eight months.