Government to amend Wakf law to usher in more transparency, gender diversity

New Delhi, August 4

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, sources said.

They claimed that the move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community.

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. 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.

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 government, as of now, does not plan to leave the Bill pending in Parliament after introduction, the sources said.

The key changes proposed in the law include ensuring verification of land before a board announces it as a Waqf property.

Fresh verification of disputed lands claimed by various state boards will also be sought, according to the proposed bill. The changes with regard to the composition of the Waqf boards will ensure inclusion of women in these bodies.

The sources cited the recommendations of the Justice Sachar Commission and the joint committee of Parliament headed by K Rahman Khan as few of the reasons for amending the law.

“There have been demands from within the community to amend the law to bring transparency and accountability ...some Muslim high court judges had flagged that the decision taken by Waqf boards cannot be challenged in courts. Now, the amendment bill seeks to set that right,” a person familiar with the government's decision said.

Reacting to the move to amend the law, senior BJP leader Dinesh Sharma said Bohra and other members of the Muslim community have raised the issue of anomalies by Waqf boards. The main reason behind this is that there have been complaints against Waqf boards, made for benefitting the minorities, being involved in other works, he claimed.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board said any interference with the legal status and the powers of the Waqf boards will not be tolerated.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (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.

AIMPLB spokesperson S Q R Ilyas said the board appeals to all Muslims and their religious and Milli organisations to unite against this “malicious act of the government”.

The board will take all kinds of legal and democratic measures to thwart this move, he said in a statement.

“The All India Muslim Personal Law Board deems it necessary to make it clear that any change in the Wakf Act, 2013 which alters the nature of Waqf properties or makes it easier for the government or any individual to usurp the same will not be acceptable,” Ilyas said.

Advocate Raees Ahmad said there is a “false narrative” that a Waqf board can claim any property. Waqf board was introduced for the benefit of Muslims, he said, reacting to the move to amend the law.

Hitting out at the proposed amendments, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said, “BJP has been against the Waqf Board and Waqf properties since the beginning and there is a 'Hindutva agenda' of the RSS. They have continued to put efforts to end the Waqf Board and properties from the start.”

“Demand for improvement in Waqf board is not new, it has been going on for the past 30-40 years. Those who are raising this demand and affected by it are Muslims themselves. There is a need for betterment in the Waqf board and I hope Samajwadi Party, Congress and TMC will support it (the Bill), whenever it is introduced,” said BJP leader Ajay Alok.