Waqf claim over 300 acres in Latur disputed

Farmers claim it is their ancestral land, complainant in the Waqf tribunal says it was a grant for a dargah; next hearing scheduled on Dec 20

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha and Yogesh Naik

MUMBAI: Controversy has erupted over 300 acres of farmland in a Marathwada village, with more than a hundred farmers contesting a claim before a Waqf Tribunal that the land is Waqf property granted for a local dargah.

The dispute arose in May, when the Waqf Tribunal of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar issued notices to 103 farmers in Talegaon village in Latur district of Marathwada.

The farmers claim the land has been in the possession of their families for more than three generations, since the rule of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

The dispute has taken a political hue, with Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray urging the state government to "give justice to the farmers".

Thackeray has also declared his support to proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995, which has triggered a nationwide row.

The amendments, if they go through, would give the state government control over Waqf properties, with a section of the people and political parties questioning the state's prerogative to adjudicate over what is essentially a religious matter, as Waqf land is property donated for charitable purpose in the Muslim community.