HYDERABAD: Even as the Telangana Waqf Board continues to battle large-scale encroachments on its properties, it is now facing a new threat: Fake no-objection certificates (NOCs) and forged occupancy rights certificates (ORCs) allegedly being used to grab waqf land, secure layout approvals and have properties removed from the prohibited list.According to Waqf Board officials, land grabbers are allegedly using fabricated documents purportedly issued by the board to register properties in their names, obtain approvals from agencies such as the Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), and even get certain properties deleted from the Section 22-A prohibited properties list.One such case involves a purported NOC in which the Waqf Board’s chief executive officer allegedly informed the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district collector in Dec 2025 that the board had no claim over 54 acres in Survey Nos. 233 and 316 of Atmakur mandal. Waqf Board officials, however, say the document is fake.Another alleged forged NOC surfaced in connection with Survey No. 463 in Maheshwaram village of Rangareddy district. The document, dated May 2022, reportedly stated that neither a gazette notification nor a survey commissioner’s report existed for the land. The claim is significant because the Waqf Board owns nearly 560 acres in Maheshwaram mandal, where the land is now valued at thousands of crores of rupees.In another instance, 21 acres of waqf land in Kongara Khurd village was allegedly encroached upon after layouts were developed using forged ORCs. The land was projected as Inam land through the fabricated records, following which layout permissions were obtained from HMDA.The matter assumed greater significance after the ORCs were found to bear the allegedly forged signature of Bala Maya Devi, currently an IAS officer in the BC welfare department. The signature was from her tenure as a revenue divisional officer in Rangareddy district in 1998. Officials said she approached the police last year seeking an inquiry into the alleged forgery and action against those responsible.Amid a series of such cases, the Waqf Board has alerted key govt departments and agencies, including the chief commissioner of land administration, revenue department, registration and stamps department, Telangana RERA, panchayat raj department, HMDA, GHMC and municipalities. The board has cautioned them against accepting purported waqf NOCs or clearance certificates for property transactions.“The Waqf Board does not issue any NOC, clearance certificate, memo or correspondence declaring that a particular property is not a Waqf property. Neither the Waqf Act, 1995, nor the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, provides any provision for the issuance of such NOCs. Any document claiming to be an NOC issued by the Telangana Waqf Board should be treated as ‘void’ and should not be relied upon for registration, revenue or other official purposes,” Waqf Board CEO Mohammed Asadullah told TOI.He said any department receiving such documents should immediately refer them to the Waqf Board for verification instead of acting upon them.The CEO also warned that the board would not be responsible for transactions carried out on the basis of forged NOCs or clearance certificates. Officials processing such cases without proper verification could also face accountability, he said.Sources in the govt suspect the involvement of certain former officials and influential persons in facilitating land transactions involving waqf properties, particularly in and around Maheshwaram mandal. The board owns substantial tracts of high-value land in areas including Maheshwaram, Kandukur, Boduppal, Malkajgiri and parts of Hyderabad.Waqf Board elected member Abul Fateh Syed Bandagi Badesha Quadri said irregularities were also taking place through ORCs issued in the names of individuals rather than waqf institutions.“Even in one of the judgements by Supreme Court in 1998, the court directed to incorporate necessary entries in the revenue record, i.e. the name of the religious institution alone should be entered, not the individuals’ names. This will also put an end to the irregularities,” he said.Officials said stricter scrutiny of land records, registrations and layout approvals will be crucial to preventing further loss of waqf properties through forged documentation.
