“Meet owner of over 17 crore acres of land, owns land in every state of India, total value is Rs…”, DNA India, February 11, 2024:

“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……”

Read the full article at dnaindia.com