KARNATAKA SETS UP COMMITTEE TO PROBE WAKF LAND SCAM

The Karnataka government has set up a high-level committee to look into encroachment of Wakf properties, Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda said on May 22. The committee would submit its report in four months time, Gowda said in a release. The government had constituted a panel in November last year following complaints and media reports on the role of politicians and Wakf Board officials in the illegal sale of land to individuals.

The panel had submitted a 7,000-page report to Gowda on March 27 alleging a scam of over Rs two lakh crore involving the Wakf Board land. It reportedly said Wakf property had been misused since 1954, thanks to the “nexus” between Wakf officials and real estate mafia.