BJP MP ParveshVerma has alleged that mosques are mushrooming on government land in NCT of Delhi
Our Correspondent / New Delhi
The fact-finding committee of Delhi Minorities Commission has rejected the claim made by BJP leaders that illegal Masjids, Qabristan, Mazaars and Madrasa have sprung up in West Delhi during the last 20 years as the panel found the claim to be false.
The panel found that none of the Masjids/Mazaars/Madrasa/Graveyard were illegally built or encroached on government land as claimed by BJP leaders.
The Masjids, Madrasas, Mazaars and Qabristans mentioned in list Parvesh Verma largely belong to the communities, families and individuals who were displaced or relocated in 1947 Partition, 1976 Emergency, and 2004 Commonwealth Games Preparations,
DMC said that there was sufficient grounds to initiate legal proceedings against Member of Parliament, Parvesh Verma and those others making false claims, spreading rumours to target a particular community, and creating communal disharmony in Delhi.
The fact-finding committee recommends Delhi Minorities Commission to file a complaint against Member of Parliament, Parvesh Verma in Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, as it is clearly found that he has violated his oath of office.
“In view of the Assembly Elections in Delhi in a few months’ time, there should be zero tolerance against those spreading hate and incitement to violence against particular communities and adequate protection must be given to people from vulnerable communities in Delhi”, it underlined.
During the survey it has been found that large numbers of people have been evicted, relocated and resettled in resettlement colonies, but they have not been given ownership titles for the land they are occupying. Places of worship of all faiths built in these resettlement colonies need to be regularised. Applications for regularisation of places of worship in resettlement areas need to be processed and cleared by the concerned authorities at the earliest.
The Qabristan (cemetery) at Vipin Garden should be given adequate protection from those desecrating and vandalising graves and it should be restored as a burial ground for Muslims.
The Dargahs and Mazaars in Delhi should be restored with all its sanctity as a place of worship for all and efforts should be made to prevent these dargahs and Mazaars from being converted into Hindu places of worship. And Delhi Minorities Commission is requested to conduct a detailed fact-finding on this subject.
The Supreme Courts orders on removal/relocation/regularisation of unauthorised religious structures must be complied with at the earliest by the concerned authorities in Delhi.
Recommendations for Waqf Board
In order to ensure greater accountability in the Delhi Waqf Board, the following recommendations are made:
a. It is recommended that the Waqf Board be an elected body with periodic elections by the Muslim community in Delhi. It could be similar to the elections and management of Gurudwaras in Delhi.
b. In order to bring about greater transparency in the Delhi Waqf Board, an annual report should be mandatorily published.
c. In order to bring about financial transparency, an independent committee should make an annual audit of the finances and properties of the Waqf Board.
The list which was submitted by Member of Parliament, Shri Parvesh Verma contained 51 Masjids, 2 Mazaars, 3 Qabristan (Graveyards), and 2 Madrasas which he alleged were built on government land. The Committee visited each of these places and examined the current status which is as follows:
- 2 Qabristans, 2 Masjids and 1 Madrasa were found to belong to Delhi Waqf Board.
- 1 Qabristan allegedly allocated by the Flood Department in 2005, was used as a burial ground till 14 November 2017 and then people were stopped from burying their dead. Most of the graves have been vandalised and desecrated.
- 7 Masjids were given land allotments by DDA/DUSIB/Gram Sabha in the name of the Masjids. Out of these, 2 Masjids have applied for allotment of land as the covering area of their Masjids was more than the allotted land.
- In the case of 23 Masjids and 1 Imambada, it was learnt that applications for allotment of land were submitted to the land owning authority by the committee of the respective Masjids. These masjids have been largely built in resettlement colonies where a large number of people were shifted by State authorities from central Delhi at different points of time. It was found that no action has been taken on their applications and they have been pending for the past few decades.
- 6 Masjids and 1 Madrasa were found to be on private land which were purchased from either the land owning authorities or by a third party.
- In the case of 1 Masjid and 1 Mazaar, the fact finding team found that their property cases were sub-judice in Courts.
- It was also observed that 2 Mazaars were illegally being converted into Mandirs.
- 2 Madrasas were found to be on the rented land.
- In 8 places no establishment of Masjids/Mazaars/Madrasa/Graveyard were seen. Either the addresses were incorrect or vacant plots were found.
- One mosque appears twice in the list: No. 41 (P-1, Sultanpuri) and No. 46 (P-1, Sultanpuri, near nala) refers to the same mosque.
- A local Masjid which was built around 1617, which comes under the Delhi Waqf Board, interestingly is being named as an encroachment on government land.
Full Fact-Finding Report of DMC on Legal Status of mosques, graves