Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India]: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has issued a strict directive to officials to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers concerning waqf land issues, emphasizing that no disturbances should be caused to the farmers, said Chief Ministers Office in a statement on Saturday.
The directive followed a high-level meeting involving senior officials from the Revenue Department, Minority Welfare Department, and the Waqf Board, added the statement from CMO.
The CM expressed strong dissatisfaction over recent actions taken by certain officials and highlighted that the JD(S) and BJP were allegedly using the Waqf issue for political gain, potentially disturbing peace in the state.
Siddaramaiah appealed to the public to disregard any misinformation and called on officials to ensure the matter is handled sensitively
As per CM orders, all notices issued to farmers on land records related to Waqf properties must be withdrawn without delay. And officials were instructed to avoid causing any trouble to farmers regarding lands under their possession, read the statement further.
Any unauthorized modifications to the land records (pahani) without prior notice or legal procedure should be immediately nullified.
Earlier, former CM Basavaraj Bommai alleged the misuse of the Waqf law in the state and called for examination of all state records to ensure justice for farmers.
He claimed that revenue laws are being ignored to unjustly designate farmers’ agricultural lands across the state as Waqf properties.
“The revenue law records are final when it comes to land matters. However, these are being disregarded, and judgments by the Waqf tribunal are being considered as final. In previous instances, whenever such cases were taken to court, justice was granted to the affected parties. Now, a single application is enough to declare all farmers’ lands across the state as Waqf property, leading to government notices that create confusion and fear among farmers. It is height of the government’s irresponsibility,” Bommai said.