Andhra eyeing locked wakf land for new industries

Following the demand for urban land from industry, the Andhra Pradesh government is looking for newer pastures. In the process, it has discovered that wakf land is more appropriate for the purpose, as this would enable the Wakf Board to unlock the value of the land. Most of wakf land in and around Hyderabad was created by the erstwhile Nizams as religious endowments.

According to senior officials in the minority welfare department, the government is considering allowing the use of wakf land for development of infrastructure to set up industries acceptable under Islam. ??It is not against the wakf laws if the funds being generated from the wakf property are used for the purpose for which it was created,?? a Wakf Board official said.

Officials say the government has already initiated efforts, on a trial basis, to allow the wakf property in Alur, on the outskirts of Hyderabad, for setting up of an Electronic City. The proposed city will be developed by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) with the Wakf Board as a co-developer. A similar model would be followed in other locations also, sources said.

As per rough estimates, over three lakh acre of wakf property is locked up in various disputes. A majority of this land is in urban locations, like Hyderabad, Visakhapatanam. The government now proposes to help the Wakf Board release these from encroachments, sources said.

Interestingly, the wakf property cannot be used for purposes, like multiplexes, cinema halls, wine shops etc, but can be used to set up manufacturing units. Sources said APIIC would have 40% share in the project for carrying out development activity, while the Wakf Board would have 60% stake.

This apart, the government is looking at the land provided to central government institutions, like the Railways. Most of the land was provided to the Railways on lease or free of cost about 50 years back. They hold large chunks of land in the urban locations. The state government is now contemplating to take back this land if it has been kept idle for years, officials said.

Further, the government has asked officials to take stock of land provided to central government undertakings, like HMT, IDPL etc. These companies, holding large chunks of land in Hyderabad, have decided to close their units. The government plans to take back the land and re-allocate it to industries in the private sector.