Hyderabad: MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday demanded that the state government keeps the GO on regularisation of government lands in abeyance.

Mr Owaisi said that his party has welcomed the move for allotment of government and surplus lands to the poor who are in possession of plots up to 125 square yards free of cost.

However, the way this has been sought to be done through GO Ms No. 58 raises various issues.

He requested the CM to take the decision only after receiving the reports from the three joint legislature committees and also SK Sinha Task Force on regularisation of lands.

In the all-party meeting, the MIM pointed out that Wakf lands were spread across Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts and in some cases, the government claimed the Wakf lands to be the government lands. The MIM had cautioned the government against regularisation of such lands since sale or alienation of Wakf lands is prohibited under the Wakf laws.

Pointing out the harassment of the property owners of the twin cities, he said when the MIM had its mayor in the GHMC, the property tax collections of GHMC increased from `604 crore in 2011-12 to `1,023 crore in 2013-14. The property tax revenue collections had gone up without affecting a single rupee hike in property taxes.

However, soon after the term of the elected body ended on December 3, 2014, the GHMC authorities have arbitrarily raised the target of property tax collections during 2014-15, he alleged.

He urged the CM to release funds to the minority welfare department as thousands of minority students, as also students of other communities, are awaiting the disbursement of arrears of pre-matric and post-matric scholarships and reimbursement of tuition fees sanctioned for them during the financial year 2013-14.