Bhopal, Feb 6 : A controversy has erupted over the survey of Waqf Board properties here in Madhya Pradesh after Congress MLA Arif Masood demanded that the ongoing physical survey be stopped.

Masood, who is an MLA from Bhopal Madhya Assembly seat, has written letters to Madhya Pradesh Chief Secretary Anurag Jain, expressing concern over the survey of Waqf Board properties in Madhya Pradesh.

In his letter, the Congress MLA said that the rules being followed for the Waqf Board properties could lead to a future dispute, claiming that documents of most of the properties are incomplete.

He also accused the state government of presenting "incorrect" data in the name of the survey.

"Documents of various properties of Waqf Board are incomplete, therefore, conducting a survey of such properties won't be easy. This could lead to a major dispute on such properties. I have written a letter to the Chief Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh government and has demanded that the ongoing survey should be stopped," Masood told IANS.

Meanwhile, the Congress MLA has also appealed to the representatives of Muslim organisations to come forward to oppose the survey of Waqf Board properties and register their complaints with district administrations.

Responding to Masood's allegation, senior BJP leader and Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department (PWD) Minister, Rakesh Singh, said the survey is being conducted on the recommendation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and there should be no objection to it.

"Some people are in politics to create controversies only. They don't want to get things settled. This step (survey) has been taken to make properties encroached-free and stop corruption in Waqf Boards. Some selective people are opposing it for their vested interest, otherwise majority of people of the minority community have welcomed the survey," he added.

Notably, the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), has recently demanded details of Waqf Board properties in Madhya Pradesh.

There are 14,986 properties of the Waqf Board and the JPC has demanded details, including current status, khashra numbers, and other records.

State governments have also been asked to share details of cases where their authorities are engaged in a legal dispute with Waqf boards over ownership or possession of any property.

Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board Chairman Sanwar Patel has earlier said that JPC has demanded information on 15 heads and 12 out of them are related directly to the Waqf Board and the rest of the heads are related to the Collector and the Revenue Department.

According to sources, the Madhya Pradesh government had informed the JPC that the State Waqf Board oversees 14,921 registered properties spanning 52,752 acres, as documented in official records.

/IANS