The Kerala High Court.
Credit: X/@ANI
Thiruvananthapuram: Residents of Munambam coastal village near Kochi in Kerala are accusing the Kerala government of playing a 'delay tactics' in restoring their revenue rights over their land despite a ruling of the Kerala High Court that the Waqf board's claim over their land was illegal.
Around 610 families of Munambam are staging a stir over the last 396 days against the Kerala State Waqf Board's claim over their land.
The aggrieved families allege that despite the state government's assurance that steps would be taken to restore their revenue rights over the land, no steps were taken even a month after the High Court ruling terming the Waqf claim over their land as illegal. Now the state Waqf board is learnt to be planning to file a review petition against the High Court order and the board is also trying to deliberately delay the ongoing proceedings over the issue in the waqf tribunal, they said.
"The waqf board headed by a chairman appointed by the state government is indulging in the delay tactics despite the government assuring that the issue would be sorted out soon. Now the government will be citing the announcement of the local body election as further excuse for delaying the steps. We will be forced to intensify the stir against this delay tactics," Joseph Benny, leader of the action council of Munambam residents, told DH.
The Waqf board authorities were not available for their comments on the matter.
The Munamabam land stir received national attention with union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijuju citing it in the Parliament while introducing the Waqf amendment bill. Rijuju had even come down to Munambam and assured that the amendments in the law would address the plight of the people of Munambam. But the aggrieved families are yet to get any relief.