The Minorities Welfare Department’s agencies such as Minorities Finance Corporation (TSMFC), State Haj Committee (TSHC) and the State Waqf Board (TSWB) are grappling with a host of issues which include either no official to head them, or their terms coming to an end.
The TSWB, which is the custodian of tens of thousands of Muslim endowed properties in the State, is one example. With the term of the elected board coming to an end, aggrieved mutawallis, those who are managers or custodians of waqf institutions, approached the Telangana High Court, seeking its intervention.
According to Abdul Muqeet Qureshi, counsel representing Anjuman-e-Sajjadagaan Mutawalliyan Khidmatguzaran-e-Waqf, an association of administrators and managers of waqf institutions, a writ petition was filed in the High Court.
“The association is of the view that elections are a long process. They had stated that representations were made twice to conduct elections. The delay of elections is against the interest of waqf, and that not initiating the process of elections is illegal. In a recent order, the court directed the government to initiate the process of elections,” Mr Qureshi said.
As was previously reported in these columns, elected members of the board had raised concerns over the possibility of the State government appointing special officers to head the TSWB, which is an autonomous organisation. It was well after the formation of Telangana that elections were held and the term of special officers and competent authorities ended.
While the mutawallis moved the HC seeking directions, the state of affairs at some other agencies of the Minorities Welfare Department is different. For instance, the TSMFC has remained without a chairman after the term of Akbar Hussain ended.
There are instances in agencies do not have a full-time head. TSWB chief executive officer Shahnawaz Qasim is also the Commissioner for Minorities Welfare. The TSHC does not have a chairman. B Shafiullah, Secretary of Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society, holds full additional charge of the TSHC executive officer. The Telangana State Minories Commission too is headless ever since then chairman Mohammed Qamaruddin’s term expired.
