A controversy has emerged over the Mustafa Mosque on Delhi Road in Moradabad after the Moradabad Development Authority (MDA) issued a notice seeking documents related to its construction and land status.
The mosque, located opposite Teerthanker Mahaveer University in the Pakbara area, covers around 300 square metres. The notice followed a complaint alleging that the mosque’s construction map had not been approved and that the structure stood on government land.
MDA seeks documents
MDA officials have asked the mosque management to submit documents showing approval for the construction. The authority has also raised concerns about the structure’s location along Delhi Road and its alleged impact on traffic.
MDA Vice President Anubhav Singh said the authority had received a complaint alleging that the mosque’s map had not been approved.
“Consequently, a notice was issued seeking relevant documents,” Singh said.
According to local reports, the MDA notice gives the mosque management 15 days to remove the alleged unauthorised construction. The authority has warned that further action could be taken if the structure is not removed within the stipulated period.
Singh said the documents would first be examined and that further action would be taken according to the rules after the investigation is completed.
Mosque management disputes claims
The mosque’s Imam, Mohammad Shan Azhari, disputed the suggestion that it was a recent construction. He said the mosque was decades old and that prayers had been offered there since the time of his ancestors.
Azhari also rejected the MDA’s concerns regarding traffic obstruction on Delhi Road.
He said the mosque management would respond to the notice according to the law. Mutawalli Zeeshan, his son Farid Jabbar and the management committee would pursue the matter legally, he said.
The MDA’s notice and complaint do not by themselves establish that the mosque was constructed illegally. The authority has said it will determine the next course of action after examining the documents and completing its investigation.
The development comes amid increased scrutiny of religious structures and alleged unauthorised constructions in parts of Uttar Pradesh. In Moradabad, authorities have previously removed a mosque-like structure near Siddh Hospital on Kanth Road and a minaret reportedly built on park land under the MDA’s Sector 10 scheme.
MDA officials have maintained that constructions on government land without the required permissions will not be allowed.
