In a significant development, the Telangana Revenue Department has handed back control of the Telangana Waqf Board’s record room after nearly nine years, ending an arrangement that began in 2017 under the then BRS government led by K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR).
The decision was communicated by Hyderabad Collector Dr. Priyanka Ala to Waqf Board CEO Mohammed Asadullah. According to officials, the move aims to facilitate the transfer of old Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board records and accelerate the digitization of Waqf properties on the Centre’s UMEED portal.
Why Was the Record Room Sealed?
In 2017, the then Telangana government ordered the sealing of the record room, citing concerns over possible tampering of sensitive land records. The Hyderabad Collector was appointed custodian, and a Tahsildar was stationed at Haj House in Nampally to oversee access and retrieval of files.
What Records Are Stored There?
The record room contains decades old historical, legal and administrative documents related to Waqf properties across Telangana. These include records from the Nizam era written in Urdu, Persian, Arabic and English, covering thousands of mosques, dargahs, graveyards and other Islamic endowment properties.
Why Is the Handover Important?
The Waqf Board has been working to upload property details to the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) portal. Access to historical records is considered crucial for verifying ownership claims, resolving disputes and protecting Waqf lands from encroachment.
Officials said the handover will also help complete the transfer of old Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board records that remained pending for several years.
Reactions
The decision comes after several Muslim organizations demanded reopening of the record room, arguing that restricted access was affecting legal proceedings, property verification and efforts to tackle encroachments on Waqf land.
Waqf Board CEO Mohammed Asadullah clarified that the records were not entirely inaccessible during the past nine years, but access was controlled through Revenue Department officials. With the latest order, full control has now returned to the Waqf Board.
