KNZ NEWS DESK
Former VC Wakf seeks intervention of Muslims
Srinagar, Aug 3, : Describing Wakf Board as the ‘hub of corruption and nepotism’ its former Vice Chairman Nizamuddin Bhat Friday appealed to Muslim community of Kashmir Valley to intervene and save this precious asset from misusing by ‘corrupt and greedy’ chosen few.
He said all is not well in Wakf Board and there is so much loot going on without any accountability. “You can’t imagine an Executive Engineer from Wakf Board presented monthly fuel bill of Rs 26,000 before me. Another employee went on the pretext of illness looted Rs 15 lakhs. There are hundreds of instances which show, how some greedy people are minting money in the name of Wakf. It has miserably failed to live up to the expectations of Muslims of Kashmir,” Nizamuddin Bhat told reporters during a press conference at his Tulsi Bagh based official residence.
Terming his six months tenure as Vice Chairman corruption free, Bhat according to CNS said that he didn’t use a single penny from the Wakf for his personal use. “I didn’t take any allowance during my tenure and even I refused to take salary from the donations made by devotees. On my request to the then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, my salary came from the government. Unfortunately, some miscreants who were not happy with my functioning are now resorting to mudslinging and are accusing me of providing a Gupkar based abandoned quarter to the daughter of former Minister Syed Farooq Andrabi,” he said.
Bhat explained in detail, how the daughter of Andrabi like four other applicants approached Wakf and went on saying that he flatly refused to renovate Gupkar flat by Wakf money. “Some of the employees who are treating Wakf as their fiefdom are looting its money at will. Rent in crores are lying with tenants and these employees are not demanding the same from them. A top cleric who has his office at Shaheed Ganj has outstanding in lakhs and he is paying anything to the Wakf,” Bhat said adding that majority of the people in Kashmir have no fear of God.
“Newly created Hindu Trusts and Welfare Organizations including Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, Pratap Sabha have set up Colleges, Universities and Hospitals, ironically, the Wakf Board has miserably failed to make any mark to establish such institutions. Mark my words, Bibi Haleema Nursing College run by Wakf Board is going to lose its recognition as Wakf is neither renovating it nor upgrading its infrastructure,” Bhat said.
Bhat said that he tried very hard to bring Wakf Board on track. “I was mentally frustrated the way I observed fraud and cheating inside the Board. You won’t believe, some employees claimed they distributed Rs 85 lakhs from ‘Bait-ul-Mal’ among 25 destitute and orphans. When I sought the details and record, they invoked Islam and said it is prohibited to keep record such record. It is due to lack of transparency and accountability, the Board has failed to make any achievement for the upliftment of Muslims in Kashmir,” he said.
Bhat said that the Wakf properties are worth Rs 2000 crores. “The Board is not utilizing those properties to generate revenue. The Board owns huge property including 1453 shops, 2160 Kanals of orchard land, 99 Kanals of paddy land, 242 Kanals of maliyari land, 6840 Kanals of forest land, 32 Kanals of marshy land and 63 Kanals of Eidgah, but of no use,” he said. (CNS)
