The winter session of Parliament has begun. A new bill on Waqf Board is likely to be introduced in this session. This bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in the monsoon session. But then it was sent to the Joint Parliamentary Committee i.e. the CPM. On several occasions there was an uproar in the CPM meeting over this bill. Now, when it is presented in Parliament, there will surely be a big stir.
But the question arises why an amendment is necessary. The law governing the Waqf Board dates back to 1954. Now the government is going to modify it. The government claims that the new law will eliminate the deficiencies of the existing law. Furthermore, the Waqf properties will be managed better than before.
The properties of the waqf often remain disputed. This is because such properties are in the name of Allah and have no heir. However, in 1998, the Supreme Court had said in its decision that once property becomes Waqf, it will always remain Waqf.
Dispute over Waqf properties
Recently, controversies have arisen over many Waqf properties. A report recently came in stating that more than 200 such properties in Delhi had been declared as Waqf properties, which were under the control of two different government agencies.
The Economic Times reported in September that 108 Waqf declared properties were under the control of L&DO, while 138 properties were under the control of the Delhi Development Authority. This information was delivered by the officials to the CPM of Parliament.
In Kerala there is a dispute over the ownership of the Waqf for a long time. The Waqf Board has been claiming 404 acres of land near the Munambam coast in Kerala’s Ernakulam district for a long time. More than 600 Hindu and Christian families live on this land.
Similarly, a 0.02 acre land of a government school in Kandavara of Chikballapur taluk of Karnataka has also been declared Waqf property. A few years ago, Dawood Shah Wali’s Dargah was built on this government school land. In the revenue records, this land has been declared the property of the Waqf. For many years, the people and teachers here have been fighting a legal battle to save the land.
Waqf has claimed over 4 acres of land in Torana village of Bidar district of Karnataka. A hospital has been built on this land.
How many Waqf properties are in dispute?
Waqf Asset Management System of India (WAMSI) has been created by the Union Minority Ministry. Records of Waqf properties are maintained in this database.
According to the database, Waqf has more than 8.72 lakh properties across 30 states of the country. Most of these properties include mosques, cemeteries and agricultural land. Of them, more than 73 thousand properties are in dispute.
Properties in dispute are considered to be those over which litigation is pending or there has been usurpation. Such properties, in which the owner has claimed an illegal transfer, have also been considered to be in dispute. The dispute over some 8 thousand properties is in court.
Most of the disputed properties are located in Punjab, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. There are disputes over more than 56 per cent of Waqf properties in Punjab.
5 major controversies over Waqf properties
1. The entire land of Tiruchenthurai village in Tamil Nadu has been declared the property of the Waqf. This land is said to have been donated by Nawab Anvardin Khan for Waqf in 1956. Since it is a Waqf property, buying and selling of land is prohibited here. To stop illegal sale of land, the Waqf Board had demanded to register it as “zero value”. However, the Minority Ministry has banned any kind of transaction here.
2. There is also controversy over the Idgah territory in Bengaluru. According to the government, the land here was never given to any Muslim organization or Waqf. But the Waqf Board claims that it has been Waqf property since 1850, so it will always remain Waqf property.
3. Recently, the Gujarat Waqf Board had reclaimed the building from the Surat Municipal Corporation. The Waqf Board claims that the Surat Municipal Corporation building was an inn during the Mughal period and was used during the Haj pilgrimage. During British rule, this property came into the hands of the British. But when independence was achieved in 1947, all properties passed to the Government of India.
4. The Gujarat Waqf Board had also claimed two islands of Bet Dwarka in Dwarka. The Waqf Board had also filed a petition before the High Court demanding a claim in this regard. However, the High Court refused to hear this petition saying, how can the Waqf Board claim the land of Krishnanagari Dwarka?
5. A person living in Surat Shiv Society handed over his land to the Gujarat Waqf Board. After this, people started offering namaz here. This meant that in any housing society, a person could give any apartment or land to the Waqf without the approval of others and that place could be converted into a mosque. There’s a lot of tension here now.
What is Waqf property?
Waqf is any movable or immovable property that a person who follows Islam donates in the name of Allah or the religion. Once the property belongs to the Waqf, it always remains Waqf. It is believed that apart from Allah, no one exists and cannot own the Waqf property.
Waqf is an Arabic word that means to remain. Waqf property cannot be bought or sold. Such ownership cannot be transferred to anyone’s name.
Experts say that dedicating a property as Waqf means dedicating it to Allah. Any profit made from the Waqf property is used for the needy.
A person who believes in Islam and donates his property is called ‘Waqif’. The person who manages such property is called “Mutawalli”. The management of these properties is supervised by the Waqf Board.
There is a Waqf Board in every state. There are separate Waqf boards for Shias and Sunnis in Jharkhand and UP. In total there are 32 Waqf boards across the country. Above the Waqf Board is the Central Waqf Council.
How much property does the Waqf Board own?
According to the Central Government, India has the largest number of Waqf properties in the world. The Waqf Board has more than 8.72 lakh properties, which are spread over 9.4 lakh acres. Its estimated value is Rs 1.2 lakh crore. After the Railway and Defense Department, the Waqf Board has the largest amount of assets.
Why does the government want to change the law?
The Waqf Act was passed in 1954 for the management of Waqf properties. It was then amended in 1995 and 2013. Now the Modi government is once again preparing to amend the law.
Currently, the Additional Commissioner has the authority to inspect Waqf lands. But there is a provision in the bill according to which Waqf properties will need to be registered with the district collector. The survey of Waqf properties will also be carried out by the district collector or deputy commissioner.
The biggest change will occur in the administrative structure of the Waqf Board. There are elected members in the Waqf Board. These members elect a president. But according to the proposed bill, all members of the Waqf Board will be appointed by the government. Two board members will also not be Muslims.
Currently, if any property is declared as Waqf and there is an objection in this regard, then it could be challenged in the Waqf Court. It was the court that decided whether the property was Waqf or not. There are three members in the Waqf Tribune. According to the proposed bill, the Waqf Court will now have two members instead of three. The court’s decision will not be considered final and may be challenged in the Superior Court within 90 days.
Not only this, if the proposed bill becomes law, then the people whose properties were taken by the Waqf 12 years ago through encroachment, will get them back.
