In yet another reminder of the unchecked powers of India’s Waqf Boards, several Hindu families in Raipur’s Purani Basti were served property notices by the Chhattisgarh State Waqf Board, claiming that their homes, occupied and registered for over six decades, stood on “Waqf land.”
The notices, delivered just a day before Deepawali, have triggered outrage across the state. Residents say they have owned the land legally since the late 1940s and 1960s, with property documents dating back to 1948 and 1965 and decades of municipal tax records to prove it.
Shock Before Festival
For the residents of Purani Basti, one of Raipur’s oldest localities, the timing of the notices has been deeply distressing. Families preparing for the festival of lights suddenly found themselves accused of living on land the Waqf Board now claims as religious property.
“If this was Waqf land, why was it not addressed for 70 years?” asked one resident.
“We’ve been paying taxes, maintaining our homes, and renewing papers, no one raised an objection before.”
The notices warned that failure to appear before the District Collector within two days could lead to legal action, a move many described as coercive and intimidating.
Waqf Board Claims and Growing Controversy
Chhattisgarh Waqf Board Chairman Salim Raj stated that the Board had identified properties worth around ₹500 crore that had been “illegally sold or encroached upon.” He maintained that the Board was simply reclaiming assets that rightfully belonged to Waqf institutions.
However, the residents argue this is part of a larger pattern of Waqf overreach, where vast stretches of land, often occupied or owned by non-Muslim citizens for generations, are suddenly claimed as Waqf property under ambiguous or outdated records.
The issue is not isolated. Across India, there have been multiple disputes where the Waqf Board has claimed land without prior notice, and the burden of proof is unfairly placed on lawful owners rather than on the Board itself.
Collector Orders Inquiry
Following the uproar, the District Collector has ordered a thorough investigation, asking both the Board and the affected families to produce ownership documents. Officials have promised an “impartial and fact-based review” to determine who rightfully owns the land.
However, the move has already created unrest in the locality, with several residents fearing that bureaucratic delays could allow the issue to linger indefinitely, leaving their ownership in limbo.
The Larger Debate: Reining in Waqf’s Unchecked Reach
The Raipur episode has reignited national debate around the unchecked powers of Waqf Boards, a legacy of the UPA’s 2013 Waqf (Amendment) Act, which gave these bodies near-absolute authority over land they claim as Waqf property. The law allowed them to declare any property as Waqf’s land without judicial oversight, leaving affected citizens to prove their innocence rather than the Board proving ownership.
However, the BJP government’s 2025 Waqf (Amendment) Bill sought to reverse this imbalance by introducing transparency, accountability, and legal restraint. The amendment mandates:
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Judicial verification before declaring any land as Waqf property.
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Mandatory public notice and cross-verification with revenue records.
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Penalties for wrongful or politically motivated claims.
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And most importantly, state-level tribunals to fast-track disputes instead of dragging citizens into endless litigation.
This reform was intended to dismantle what critics called a “parallel land control system” created by the 2013 law, one that could override even state and municipal authorities.
Yet, as the Raipur case shows, many Waqf Boards continue to operate under old interpretations, using inherited records to assert control over private and community lands. The timing of these notices, issued to Hindu families just before Deepawali, only strengthens the public perception that reform on paper is yet to translate into ground reality.
