TS to form 2 more House Committees to probe land issues

Hyderabad: The Telangana government on Thursday agreed to constitute two more Legislative House Committees to probe irregularities in various housing societies and to look into Wakf properties across the state.

The government on Wednesday had agreed to constitute a House Committee to probe the various land issues, including those belonging to Wakf, endowments and churches.
However, on a plea made by Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader Akbaruddin Owaisi in the Assembly on Thursday, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao announced that a separate House Committee would be constituted to look into Wakf land. The issue came up for discussion in the Assembly on Thursday through a Call Attention Motion moved by Akbaruddin and four other MLAs into the irregularities in the Jubilee Hills and Film Nagar Housing Societies and the Wakf land involved.
Akbaruddin said various inquiries conducted by government agencies clearly established that large-scale irregularities were committed by the societies over the last many years. But the previous governments shielded the guilty and no action was taken against them. "I demand that the present government immediately scrap those societies and appoint special officers," the MIM Legislature Party leader said and demanded a judicial probe into the societies' affairs.
Legislators belonging to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti wanted a House Committee to probe the societies' irregularities and bring the guilty to book. Responding to this, the Chief Minister said 80 bundles of files on these were available with the government. There were numerous probes into the societies' affairs. Lots of irregularities were found. What should we do now is the question, he said. He agreed to the constitution of a House Committee to probe the housing societies' affairs.
Congress leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka wanted the House Committee to also probe the irregularities in the Telangana Non-Gazetted Officers' Housing Society. The Chief Minister said there was no objection, but added that the affairs of all housing societies in the 10 districts of Telangana would also be probed by the Committee. The government was concerned over Wakf properties, he said, adding that all steps would be taken to probe them.
A Joint Legislature Committee, comprising members of the Legislative Council and the Assembly, would look into the Wakf land issue, he said. The government would soon appoint a judge for the Wakf Tribunal to dispose of cases related to Wakf land, he added.