The Centre is likely to bring a bill soon in Parliament seeking several amendments to the Waqf Act, which may cut its unfettered powers to call any property its asset, and also ensure representation for women.
As per the sources, the bill proposes to repeal a few clauses of the Act primarily aimed at reducing the arbitrary powers currently held by Waqf Boards. The claims laid by the Waqf Board often lead to disputes. For instance, in September 2022, the Tamil Nadu Waqf Board claimed ownership of the entire Thiruchendurai village, which had a majority Hindu population living there for centuries.
Centre seeks to end autocracy of Waqf board
With this legislation, the Centre seeks to end the autocracy of the board. Some of the key highlights of the bill include mandatory verification to ensure a more transparent process; Amendments to Section 9 and Section 14 to alter the composition and functioning of the Waqf Boards to ensure representation for women; Properties claimed by Waqf Boards will undergo fresh verification to resolve disputes; Magistrates may be involved in the monitoring of waqf properties.
As per sources, the demand to change the existing laws has come from Muslim intellectuals, women and various sects like Shia and Bohra. There are around 8.7 lakh properties under Waqf Boards across the country and the total land under these properties is around 9.4 lakh acres.
The Waqf Act was enacted in 1995 and regulates assets donated and notified as waqf by a wakif- the person who dedicates a property for purposes recognised by Muslim law as pious, religious, or charitable.
During the UPA-2, the Congress-led Centre gave additional powers under the Waqf Act making it virtually impossible to get the land back from the claws of the board. It is these amendments which have since been a point of contention. To address the Board's arbitrariness, the Centre is planning to introduce the bill in Parliament in the coming week.
'Modi govt wants to snatch Waqf properties': Asaduddin Owaisi
AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi today (August 3) alleged that the Modi government wants to snatch Waqf properties from Muslims and interfere with the freedom of religion through proposed amendments to the Waqf Act.
Issuing a video statement, he said that the media reports on the proposed Bill for amendments to the Waqf Act show that the government intends to dilute the autonomy of the Waqf Board and give powers to the executive to decide disputes relating to Waqf properties.
The Hyderabad MP slammed the BJP-led government at the Centre for proposed amendments to restrict the powers of the Waqf Board. Owaisi questioned the proposed amendment to do a survey of Waqf properties in case of disputes.
“If a property is disputed, it is the judiciary which decides. How can political executive decide the disputes,” he asked.
The MP alleged that the Modi government wants to create disputes with surveys. “To make a property disputed, they will do a survey and write that it is not Waqf property,” he said and pointed out that there are several mosques and dargahs that BJP and RSS claim are not mosques and dargahs.
Owaisi said BJP’s allies have to decide whether they will allow Waqf properties to be snatched from Muslims. “There are many Waqf properties in Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. Will they allow the BJP government to snatch these properties,” he asked without naming Janata Dal (United) and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP).
He also hit out at the government for not informing the Parliament about the proposed amendments. “When Parliament is in session, the government is acting against Parliamentary supremacy and privileges. It is informing the media but not the Parliament,” he said.
Reacting to media reports, Owaisi lashed out at the government, accusing it of conspiracy to snatch Waqf properties. When Parliament is in session, it is the government’s responsibility to inform Parliament.
He said that the proposed amendments show how the Modi government wants to snatch the autonomy of the Waqf board and wants to interfere against the purpose of ‘Waqif’ on how the property endowed by him should be administered. This is against the freedom of religion, he said and mentioned that once a property is declared Waqf always remains Waqf.
“The BJP from the beginning has been against the Waqf Board and Waqf properties. They have a Hindutva agenda. The RSS from the beginning made attempts to finish the Waqf Board and Waqf properties,” he said.
The Waqf Act empowers the Survey Commission appointed by a state government to identify Waqf properties and make a list. The Survey Commission sends the list to the state government and the government issues gazette notification. If the gazette notification is not challenged in a month, the properties listed become Waf properties.
“The Modi government wants to change it. In the case of properties which were already declared Waqf, it has to be established again that they are Waqf properties,” he said, adding that the conclusive nature of the gazette is being diluted.
Owaisi said this would also give encroachers a chance to claim Waqf properties as their properties. “Under the Waqf Act, there is a Waqf Board in every state and it is responsible for the management and administration of Waqf properties. Amendment to Wakf Board establishment and composition will lead to chaos and loss of autonomy of Wakf Board. The government will have greater control over the Waqf Board. Media reports suggest the government wants to dilute the powers of Waqf tribunals,” he added.
'Govt should take opinion of stakeholders before making amendments': Maulana Khalid Rasheed
Amid reports that the Centre is planning to amend the Waqf Board Act, All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), member, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said that the government should consult and take the opinion of the stakeholders before making any amendments. Maulana Mahali said, "Our ancestors have donated a large part of their property and they have made it a Waqf under Islamic law. So as far as the Waqf law is concerned, the property must be used only for charitable purposes for which the Waqf has been done. And it is a law that once a property is made a Waqf, it cannot be sold or transferred. As far as the management of properties is concerned, we already have the Waqf Act 1995 and then some amendments were made in 2013. Currently, we do not feel that there is any need to make any kind of amendment to this Waqf Act and if the government feels that there is any need, then the government should consult and take the opinion of the stakeholders before making any amendment. Everyone should keep in mind that about 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the waqf properties are in the form of mosques, dargahs, and graveyards."
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