A major row has erupted between the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and the Aligarh Nagar Nigam over a sprawling 41-bigha of land currently under the university’s Riding Club. The civic body on Wednesday carried out a swift takeover of the land, valued at over ₹126 crore, asserting that the property belongs to the municipality and accusing AMU of unlawful occupation.
Meanwhile, Chief Municipal Officer Vinod Kumar defended the move, stating that AMU was occupying “large chunks of government land” without proper authorization.
“AMU is unlawfully holding on to large chunks of government land. We are identifying such plots and taking appropriate action. All necessary procedural steps were followed before Wednesday’s move” Kumar said.
However, AMU has strongly refuted these claims, calling the takeover illegal and abrupt. Shakeel Ahmad Khan, member in-charge of AMU properties, told reporters, “We never received a formal notice. We had informed the civic officials verbally of our willingness to present documents upon receiving a written request, but this was ignored.”
AMU spokesperson Vibha Sharma maintained that the university has held the land for over 80 years after acquiring it through a government order under the Land Acquisition Act of 1894. She confirmed that the university is now preparing for legal action to reclaim the land. “We are taking all necessary legal steps to re-establish AMU’s rightful ownership,” Sharma said.
Criticism Errupted
The move by the Nagar Nigam has triggered sharp criticism from the AMU community. Former Vice-Chancellor Lt Gen (Retd) Zameeruddin Shah condemned the action, questioning how such a drastic step was taken without due legal process. “All documents are in place, and they will stand up in court,” Shah said.
Former students’ union president Faizul Hasan blamed the university administration for mishandling the situation and demanded the resignation of senior officials. Meanwhile, a senior AMU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, contested the Nagar Nigam’s claim, pointing out that the land was not within municipal limits when AMU acquired it in the 1940s.
Rahat Abrar, a historian and expert on the Aligarh Movement, noted that the site was selected by then Vice-Chancellor Ziauddin Ahmad in the 1940s for a proposed medical college, and even a foundation stone had been laid. “The idea that such an important institutional project would have been planned on disputed land is implausible,” he said.
