Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy on Wednesday returned 50 acres of prime land to the state waqf board, in a move that is being as a major gain for the Muslim leadership striving for the recovery of encroached waqf property.

The land under the Baba Hazrat Sharfuddin Dargah in Pahadi Shareef area outside Hyderabad, was part of the 100-acre parcel which was encroached upon by the state revenue department and allotted to the state housing board for developing a Special Economic Zone in 2007.

It evoked strong protest from the Muslim community which was already demanding the recovery of many other prime waqf properties and thousands of acres encroached upon by the state government and private parties, including the land taken over for the international airport on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

Chief Minister Reddy personally handed over the documents to the waqf board officials in the presence of prominent Muslim leaders and ulema, including the Hyderabad member of Lok Sabha and ally Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen president Asaduddin Owaisi, the MIM's floor leader in the state assembly Akbaruddin Owaisi, Moulana Hameeduddin Auqil Hussami and Moulana Abdul Raheem Qureshi.

Addressing the gathering, the chief minister assured the Muslim community that the government was assessing the other cases of encroachment on waqf properties by state departments and private parties.

"We will try to return all those properties," Reddy said.

Of the remaining 50 acres of land of Pahadi Shareef, the chief minister indicated that once the 100 acres of alternate land was allotted to the housing board at another place, this will also be returned to the waqf board.

The government has issued a formal order to make the waqf board's control on the returned land uncontestable.

The government's move is being seen as a part of series of measures initiated to meet the major demands of the Muslim community ahead of the forthcoming assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress government in the state has already fulfilled its promise of four per cent reservations in education and jobs and also introduced scholarships and reimbursement of fees for the professional courses worth more than Rs 120 crores.

Mohammed Ali Shabbir, the state minister for energy and minority welfare, said ever since the Congress came to power the waqf properties were being protected.

"We are trying to ensure proper use of the properties for the welfare of the community", he said.

Shabbir said the government had initiated several welfare measures for the Muslim community. There was 5307 acres of waqf land in Visakhapatnam [Images], part of which was allotted to the Hindujas and which has also been recovered, he added.

The government was also setting up 14 pre-matric and post-matric hostels for the community, he said.

Welcoming the government's decision, Lok Sabha member Asaduddin Owaisi said it was for the first time that the government was returning waqf properties to the board.

"Till now the governments had only damaged the waqf property," he said. Owaisi also urged the chief minister to return the building which was rented out to the police department and was later encroached upon by the police task force, to the waqf board.

Responding to this demand, the chief minister said the government will take necessary measures to see that the building was returned at the earliest to the waqf board.