Cancel lease of land given to Azam trust: Rampur DM

“I made a request to the state government recently to cancel lease of two properties given to Jauhar trust because during a probe by a district administration team, it was found there was violation of lease agreement. In a portion of building of Government Murtaza Higher Secondary School, the office of district unit of Samajwadi Party is running. In the case of Madrasa Aalia, facts were concealed in the documents submitted with the state government while seeking the lease. Some facts were also misrepresented during the process,” said Aunjaneya Kumar Singh.

A copy of the recommendation made by the DM has also been sent to a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the state police, which is probing several alleged irregularities by the Jauhar Trust “[Land of] Government Murtaza Higher Secondary School was taken on lease for 30 years against Rs 100 per year in 2017, while Madrasa Aalia was taken on lease for 90 years in 2016 for free of cost. There was a provision to renew agreement after every 30 years fir Madrasa Aalia property,” said the DM.

Government Murtaza Higher Secondary School was one of the oldest educational institutes of Rampur district. The building once used to run the office of Basic Shiksha Adhikari (BSA) and District Inspector of School (DIOS).

“During probe it was found, initially, that the offices of BSA and DIOS were shifted to another location. Later, the school too was shifted to another location. The property was taken on lease after showing that the school was not running properly,” said DM.

According to the DM, as per records available, Madrasa Aalia is a 100-year-old educational institute of Arabian and Persian languages. In the Rampur Merger Agreement of 1949, there was a condition it should be run by government grant. The record shows that in 2001, the process was started to make it Arabic University and then government had also sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore for the cause.

It also came to light that Madrasa Aalia was affiliated with Azhar University in Egypt, Aligarh Muslim University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi and Intermediate classes from UP Board, informed DM.

“In 2002, when the Samajwadi Party came to power it stopped grant to Madrasa Aalia. The premises were vacated for construction work stating that its building in pathetic condition and also there is just one teacher. Around Rs 2 crore was allotted by the state government for repairing the building. UP Jal Nigam’s construction agency, Construction & Design Services, conducted renovation work. Even after renovation work was completed, the building was never handed over to the college authorities,” said the DM.

Azam Khan was also minister for Jal Nigam.

It has also come to light that in 2010, principal of the Madrasa Aalia wrote letters to Jal Nigam, which still had its possession, stating that all rooms and gate are locked following which students were returning back but no cognizance was taken of the matter. The principal demanded that the building be handed over but it wasn’t,” said the DM.

In 2014, the process started to hand over the building to Jauhar Trust. “Azam Khan, in 2014, wrote a letter to the then district magistrate stating that property is not being used and request to lease it to Jauhar trust to run Rampur Public School,” said DM Singh, adding that “wrong facts were entered in records and property was shown as of the Public Works Department.”