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Karnataka Government's Principal Secretary, Revenue Department has written to all Regional Commissioners and District Commissioners related to the Waqf issue.
The letter warns of disciplinary action against officials, who alter land mutation records and issue eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act. The order issued on November 9, states to withdraw all notices served to farmers and to immediately take back the land mutation orders served by any authority and also to stop mutation work. Kataria, reminded officials of a recent meeting convened by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The meeting addressed complaints regarding certain land properties being transferred to the Karnataka Board of Waqfs. Siddaramaiah issued a strict directive to officials to immediately retract all notices sent to farmers concerning waqf land issues, emphasising that no disturbances should be caused to the farmers, according to a statement by the Chief Minister's Office. In Karnataka's Vijayapura district, there has been a significant rise in land claims by the Waqf Board, affecting farmers' ancestral lands, temples, government buildings, and even centrally protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This situation has caused severe distress among local farmers and landowners, who are witnessing their generational land rights challenged without proper notification or due process. More than 15,000 acres in Vijayapura District alone have been claimed, including ancestral farmland vital for local farmers' livelihoods. Over 1,500 acres of farmland across 89 survey numbers in Honavada village in Tikota Taluk alone have been unilaterally claimed as Waqf property, according to a press statement. Many farmers in Babaleshwar Taluk have also received notices stating that their lands are now classified as Waqf property under the Waqf Act. Claims extend to temples and mutt lands, such as the Someshwara Temple (Chalukyan era) and Virakta Mutt (dating to the 12th century), added the statement. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill Jagdambika Pal visited and conducted a meeting with the farmers, whose land has been declared as 'Waqf property' in Karnataka. (ANI)
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