NEW DELHI: Centre on Tuesday said that it is planning to demolish a mosque on the premises of Krishi Bhawan, as the land is required for the redevelopment of Common Central Secretariat under the Central Vista project.In its status report, filed through the Land and Development Office, the Centre told the court that the property belongs to the government and the caretaking committee of Qadeemi Masjid was permitted to occupy it under an agreement executed in 1940.

The Centre maintained that the 1940 arrangement did not confer any ownership rights over the land.The government’s response comes in reply to a petition filed by Qadeemi Masjid, Krishi Bhawan, through its caretaking committee, challenging the proposed action concerning the religious structure.The petition further states that the Delhi Waqf Board notified the property as Waqf property in 1970 and recorded its antiquity.The petitioners claimed that even after Krishi Bhavan, Shastri Bhavan and surrounding government offices were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, the mosque continued to exist and was used by Muslim employees of the offices for offering prayers.The petitioners acknowledged that the land underneath the mosque is government property but expressed apprehension over the ongoing redevelopment, which involves dismantling of the existing complex.They maintained that they have no objection to the Central Vista redevelopment project and were not seeking suspension or delay in construction of the Common Secretariat Buildings.