The Prince Aly Khan Hospital is facing criticism for allegedly utilising Wakf-endowed property for religious and humanitarian purposes in order to construct the luxurious Aga Hall Estate housing development in Mazgaon,
Mumbai.
The hospital trust refuted the accusations, asserting that the Aga Hall Estate complies with all the legal requirements and is lawfully. The two-storey residential skyscraper that is being planned for Nesbit Road will house over 380 apartments, in addition to residences for families who currently reside in the complex's leased structures. The Ismaili Shia group owns the hospital and residential complexes, which bear the name of their spiritual leader.
A complex tenant has lodged a complaint, raising concerns over the renovation, with the
Maharashtra State Wakf Tribunal which is in
Aurangabad. Properties designated for charitable and religious purposes that are not transferable for any other reason are referred to as wakf.
The primary area of contention is which authority—Wakf or the Maharashtra State Charity Commissioner, who oversees public trusts—has jurisdiction over the land. According to the renter, the Charity Commissioner's No Objection Certificate for the project is incorrect since it lacks authority over the property. The complaint, who has also filed a lawsuit in civil court to stop the eviction from the property, claims that the eviction was carried out unlawfully and without following the proper legal procedures. The complainant has asked the tribunal for an order to stop future construction. However, PAKH has stated that it is subject to Charity Commissioner regulations, and the redevelopment is only proceeding with the Commissioner's approval.
On the other hand, the topic has been hotly contested and discussed on social media and the Urdu media, with local community leaders participating in the discussion. Shuaib Khatib, the trustee of Jama Masjid, the city's principal mosque, stated that the matter has raised issues over the involvement of local politicians in the forfeiture of Wakf lands entrusted for communal use.
According to Yusuf Baugwala, the complainant's attorney, Prince Aly Khan donated the land so that a hospital might be built. According to him, it was handed to the neighbourhood forever. In addition, Baugwala mentioned that the now-closed hospital, which had 154 beds and had begun as a modest medical facility in the 1950s, had a well-known cancer treatment centre. Following the building's designation as dilapidated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the hospital ceased operations in 2022.
The plaintiff claims that all Muslim religious trusts were moved from the Charity Commissioner's authority to the Maharashtra State Board of Wakf under the Wakf Act, which went into effect in January 1996. Numerous trusts objected to the transfer. The complainant claims that while the issue was pending, the hospital trust secured approvals for the project.
PAKH declared that the accusations are "incorrect and false" and threatened to sue the people.
According to a press release PAKH is a public trust and was left off of the November 2003 list of Maharashtra Wakf holdings. The trust reported that it filed a challenge with the Wakf tribunal after the hospital's name was featured in another list that was released in May 2005. The Wakf Board removed the 2005 list in October 2008 while the lawsuit was still pending. The statement added that it must also be noted that PAKH is not a Wakf, that its objects are not those of a Wakf, and that its land was never dedicated.
According to the trust, the land was leased for more than a century from the District Collector. In 2019, the state government changed the land's tenure from Leasehold Tenure (Occupant Class-2) to Occupant Class-1/Freehold Tenure, which gave PAKH full ownership of the land. The trust stated that they can utilise the land for whatever reason, including the development of The Aga Hall Estate, but noted that the information being circulated by the public is "ill-informed and malicious disinformation."