‘Land received in exchange by Gyanvapi mosque to be put to commercial use'
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Varanasi: The 1,000 square feet land received from the Kashi Vishwanath temple by Gyanvapi mosque in exchange for its land, where Gate-4 of Kashi Vishwanath Dham exists, will be used for commercial activities.
Gyanvapi mosque management committee, Anjuman Intezamia Masajid, engaged architects on Wednesday to measure land and prepare design of a building for commercial use on land received in exchange for the temple, AIM joint secretary S M Yaseen told TOI on Thursday. The temple purchased a building of 1,900 square feet near its Bansphatak office and 1,000 square feet of it was given to the AIM against land it gave to the temple during the rejuvenation of KV Dham in 2021.
Yaseen said, "It was decided to utilise the land received from the temple for commercial purposes, while funds generated by the proposed commercial building will be used for mosque work."
Following two years of negotiation, AIM and Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple Trust (SKVTT) had in Jul 2021 agreed to exchange land. The AIM and Muslim community announced giving its land measuring 1,700 square feet near the then Chhattadwar entry point of the Kashi Vishwanath-Gyanvapi complex.
In return, the temple administration gave a piece of land measuring 1,000 square feet of the same value to the AIM. The exchange deal was finalised on Jul 9, 2021, when papers were signed by the then chief executive officer of the temple, Sunil Kumar Verma, on behalf of UP Governor and the AIM representative Maulana Abdul Batin Nomani.
Property given by Muslim side was owned by Uttar Pradesh Central Sunni Wakf Board, while the Gyanvapi-KVT control room existed there before it was removed for fresh construction of KV Dham.
"It took almost two years for the exchange deal to materialise," said Yaseen, adding that permission of the Sunni Central Waqf Board and the opinion of all clerics were taken before the deal. Yaseen said decision for exchange of property was taken after seeking consent of various religious authorities and also the Waqf Board.
While finalising the land exchange in 2021, officials and Yaseen made it clear that such cases had nothing to do with this deal and expressed hope that it would send out a message of communal harmony.
Following the land swap, the way was paved for construction of Gate-4 and other structures of the rejuvenated KV Dham.
When the deal for the exchange of land was finalised between the temple and mosque, hearings in many petitions, including original suit no. 610/1991, filed by three litigants and now being contested by advocate Vijay Shankar Rastogi as next friend of the deity, to seek the removal of the mosque from Gyanvapi land, and also suit no 693/2021 Rakshi Singh and others vs UP state and others, in which five women were seeking worship of Shringar Gauri and other deities on Gyanvapi premises, were in progress in different courts.
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