'We don't own it': BBMP's U-turn on Chamarajpet Idgah

In a dramatic U-turn, the BBMP has given up its claim over the 2.10-acre Idgah Maidan located in Chamarajpet in the heart of old Bengaluru.

“The property was in our possession but we do not own it,” BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath said on Wednesday.

He cited the city survey records of 1974 for the ambiguity over the ownership of the property.

"While the Supreme Court dismissed our claim over the property in 1964, city survey records from later years show the BBMP as the holder of the land,” he added. “But the BBMP does not have ownership over the property.”

Read | Idgah dispute heats up as documents come under question

The “dispute” over the prime property surfaced earlier this month when some Hindutva outfits sought permission from the BBMP for hosting various events there. The BBMP only muddied the waters when it said the Idgah was its property.

The civic body’s claim was immediately repudiated by the Central Muslim Association (CMA), which said the Idgah was a gazetted wakf property and cited the 1964 judgement. The Karnataka State Board of Auqaf joined the issue soon after and backed the CMA’s stand.

On June 8, DH reported how the BBMP’s stand flies in the face of the court judgement.

While the BBMP didn’t dispute the court order, it claimed that a page was missing from the copy it had received. It then reiterated its stand by citing the survey records.

Still, the corporation asked the board to submit the relevant documents to prove ownership. The board submitted the documents on June 17.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Girinath said they had found the “missing” page but there was nothing in it that could alter the judgement. Further, he revealed that in 1968, the then Corporation of the City of Bangalore had contested the ownership of several wakf properties but the Idgah was not one of them.

In 1972, the corporation was shown as the khata holder of the property “on the face of the text register” filed by the then assistant revenue office (ARO) of the West Zone, he said.

“Nobody challenged this. Neither the wakf board nor anyone else. It even didn’t apply for khata or submit proof during the city survey records. So the property remained in our possession and we even built a toilet there,” he explained.

He, however, acknowledged that the khata did not give the BBMP the title of the property.

The official said the BBMP was ready to issue the khata certificate if the board applied for it.

“There is a procedure to change the khata. We will verify the records,” he said.

Asked about giving permission for other events, Girinath said the BBMP can’t because it was “injuncted by the court not to enter the property physically”.

“When we do not have permission to enter the property, how can we give permission to others,” he asked.

Striking a conciliatory note, Abdul Razack Khan, general secretary of Eidgah Masjid and Anjuman-e-Islamia, said the Idgah would continue to be used as a playground and they would continue to hoist the national flag there on Independence Day and Republic Day.