The Waqf Board is not the board that owns the most land in India after the government, despite popular belief to the contrary. The Catholic Church of India is the board that owns the most land in India after the government. Based on information from the Government Land Information website, as of February 2021, the Indian government possessed approximately 15,531 square kilometres of land. Of this total, 116 public sector companies and 51 ministries were using the land. Simultaneously, the Catholic Church of India is reported to possess 7 crore hectares (17.29 crore acres) of land throughout the nation. These lands are home to numerous buildings, including churches, colleges, and schools, and their combined value is estimated to be around Rs 20,000 crore.
Before 1947, the Catholic Church in India had received the majority of its land from the British government; the Indian Church Act had been passed in 1927 during that period of British rule. The Catholic Church owns land all over India, but this land is also contentious; the question of the church taking land by force is frequently brought up.
It is led by Pope Francis, the most influential Christian religious figure. The land spans from Goa to the northeastern states. The Catholic Church is governed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). In 2012, there were 2457 hospital dispensaries, 240 medical or nursing colleges, 28 general colleges, 5 engineering colleges, 3765 secondary schools, 7319 primary schools, and 3187 nursery schools in India, all under the Catholic Church of India.
The Indian government issued a circular in 1965 declaring that any land granted on lease by the British government would not be recognised. Nevertheless, because of a lack of adherence to this directive, the dispute over the legitimacy of these lands has not yet yielded a resolution.
