Sources cited in reports said that the government is all set to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the 1995 law governing Waqf boards to ensure more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies.
The central government is planning to bring a Bill in Parliament to amend the Wakf Act, 1995 - a law governing Waqf boards - to ensure more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory inclusion of women in these bodies, sources said.
Sources cited in a news agency PTI claimed that the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Sunday said any interference with the legal status and the powers of the Waqf boards will not be tolerated.
The AIMPLB also urged allies of the NDA and opposition parties to "completely reject any such move" and not allow such amendments to be passed in Parliament.
Waqf is a permanent dedication of movable or immovable properties for religious, pious or charitable purposes as recognised by Muslim Law. The assets donated and notified as waqf are known as 'Auqaf', while a person making the dedication is known as 'Wakif'.
The Waqf Act, of 1995 was enacted to regulate 'auqaf' by a wakif. Later, it was amended in 2013 by the UPA government.
The Central Waqf Council is a statutory body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Minority Affairs and was set up in 1964 as per the provision given in the Waqf Act, 1954 as an Advisory Body to the Central Government on matters concerning the working of the Waqf Boards and the due administration of Auqaf.
The Waqf Act, 1954 was subsequently repealed and after new Waqf Act was passed in 1995 which gave more powers to Waqf Boards.
However, the role of the Council was expanded under the provisions of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013. "The Council has been empowered to advise the Central Government, State Governments and State Waqf Boards. It will now issue directives to the boards/ State Government to furnish information to the Council on the performance of the board particularly on their financial performance, survey, revenue records, encroachment of Waqf properties, Annual and Audit report etc under section 9 (4) of the act," as per the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
The state governments establish the State Waqf Boards, which work towards management, regulation and protect the Waqf properties by constituting district, mandal and other committees for the individual Waqf institutions.
The Bill to amend the Wakf Act, 1995, will make it mandatory for Waqf boards to register their properties with district collectors to ensure their actual valuation, according to sources in the PTI report.
There are 30 Waqf boards in the country.
The sources on Sunday pointed out that the revenue generated by all Waqf properties is estimated at Rs 200 crore per annum. This is not in sync with the number of properties such bodies have, they said.
Originally, Waqf boards had around 52,000 properties throughout India. By 2009, there were 3,00,000 registered Waqf properties covering four lakh acres of land, and as on date, there are 8,72,292 such properties in more than eight lakh acres of land.
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While referring to the revenue generated by such bodies, the sources underlined that the money can only be used for the welfare of the Muslim community and for no other purpose.
The amendment Bill with as many as 40 changes in the current law could be brought in the ongoing Parliament session, the sources said, adding that the government does not plan to leave the Bill pending in Parliament after its introduction.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, set for introduction in the Lok Sabha, aims at renaming the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995.
The bill to amend the law governing Waqf boards has proposed far-reaching changes in the present Act, including ensuring the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies.
According to its statement of objects and reasons, the bill seeks to omit Section 40 of the current law relating to the powers of the Board to decide if a property is Waqf property.
It provides for a broad-based composition of the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards and ensures the representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims in such bodies, according to its statement of objects and reasons mentioned in a news agency PTI report.
The bill also proposes the establishment of a separate Board of Auqaf for the Boharas and Aghakhanis. The draft law provides for the representation of Shias, Sunnis, Bohras, Agakhanis and other backward classes among Muslim communities.
The bill also aims at clearly defining "'Waqf' as Waqf by any person practising Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property".
One of its objectives is streamlining the manner of registration of Waqfs through a central portal and database. A detailed procedure is established for mutation as per revenue laws with due notice to all concerned before recording any property as a Waqf property.