With the Wakf Board lethargic about taking possession of five acres of prime land and the historic structure Mishk Mahal at Attapur, the gazette notified Wakf property is in danger of being grabbed by unauthorised persons. Though several complaints have been made to the state Wakf Board, other than just conducting token inspections, they haven’t taken control of the land.
The person who has grabbed the land claims to have purchased it and has erected fencing around the five-acre property and the historic Mishk Mahal. Mr Kantha Reddy insists his occupation of the land is not illegal and his son Mr Jaipal Reddy owns the land. According to the gazette, the land with the historic structure was notified as Wakf property on February 9, 1989.
The Wakf Board admits that it is wakf property and they are attempting to get the property back by filing a court case. There is an injection order from the state Wakf Tribunal against any kind of activity on the land but this has not deterred the Reddys from clearing the land and erecting the boundary wall. “We have bought the land from Mr Khaleelullah,” says Mr Kantha Reddy. “He was the legal adviser of the Nizam. We bought the land in 1976. We have all the documents as evidence. Even we have won cases regarding the land in all courts, starting from lower court to Supreme Court,” he added.