CITING records available with the waqf administration, a national daily has reported that more than 90 per cent of waqf properties, endowed for religious or philanthropic purposes, are now under illegal occupation, usurped with counterfeit documents by heirs of the donors or by government offices. Reports have it that, it has 11,560 public (waqf lillah) and 2,260 private (waqf al-aulad) waqf estates of 6,06,107.232 acres of land in eight divisions exist in the country. Among these estates, some exist across as many as 17 districts including Dhaka, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj, Pabna, Sirajganj, Narayanganj and Patuakhali.
What is even more stunning is that, according to waqf administration officials, the actual land of the waqf estates was four to five times larger than what was stated in official documents. This makes the estimate of total documented waqf estate land to be more than 9 lakh acres. However, the documents did not mention the amount of lands occupied illegally, but said that most of the waqf lands had been illegally transferred and recorded in the name of individuals, motawallies (guardians) and institutions during different land surveys.
It is well documented that the occupiers, with the alliance of mischievous motawallies, have grabbed the lands over the decades, and many, if not most of the recorded lands thus remain illegally occupied. Areas as prominent as Bangabhaban or Chankharpul in Dhaka have fallen prey to government establishments, including the area of the Rail Bhaban, Police Headquarters and Nagar Bhaban (Dhaka South City Corporation), are now in the lands of waqf estates alongside private establishments.
According to sources mentioned in reports, some people of good -will and commitment to waqf estates had tried to protect the waqf land but had to surrender, as the occupiers are very powerful and had access to political high-ups . This power lobby could easily manage waqf officials by money or muscle power. Moreover, almost all the estates had a number of cases pending with the courts. Most of the waqf estates’ of the country have a similar story.
We want to ask a simple question in this regard. Had the successive governments taken proper initiatives to protect the religious charitable foundations could the grabbers be able to occupy the waqf lands? There had been lots of talks about different west centric models of poverty reduction and development. Why can’t we try with our own indigenous model of poverty reduction which not only has very deep roots in our society and in our beliefs but also has a tradition of practice for hundreds of years. We strongly urge the concerned government ministries to expedite the ongoing surveys of waqf administration lands. We urge the government to form a special commission to look after all the recuperative activities which includes speeding up of land cases in courts and proper maintenance and utilization of all waqf estates in the country.
