VHR demands 'White Paper' on Wakf lands

Rajya Sabha member V Hanumantha Rao on Saturday demanded that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy release a 'White paper' on the status of Wakf lands in the State.

Talking to media persons at his residence, Hanumantha Rao slammed the government for allotting Wakf lands to big corporate houses. He alleged that several companies have misused the Wakf land after it was allotted to them. Citing an instance, he said that the Lanco Hills, which was allotted land for an IT Park, has constructed a shopping complex and residential villas.

Asking the state government to take steps for the protection of Wakf lands, he said that the government should order re-survey of lands allotted for the Lanco Hills project. He said that he was seeking a 'White Paper' as the State Wakf Board has found that thousands of acres of land have been encroached upon in Hyderabad and other parts of the State. The board has issued notices to over 2,000 encroachers of Wakf land across the State.

The Rajya Sabha MP said that he would take up the issue of encroachments on Wakf lands with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi seeking their directions to the State Government to protect the lands.