On Sunday, 4th August, it was reported that the Government of India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is planning to bring a bill next week to amend the Waqf Act. Notably, due to virtually limitless powers to claim any piece of land in the country, the Waqf Board has brought over 9.4 lakh acres worth thousands of crores under its umbrella.
Before it got kicked out, UPA-2 under Congress gave additional powers under the Waqf Act making it virtually impossible to get the land back from the claws of the Waqf Board. The cases of claiming government lands have increased exponentially over the years and the government may introduce the bill on 5th August to curb such claims, the media reports suggested.
Based on unnamed sources, media reports said on 2nd August, the Cabinet approved around 40 amendments to the Waqf Act. The main objective of these changes in the law is to put a leash on the powers of the Waqf Board to make any property a “Waqf Property”. The claims laid by the Waqf Board often lead to disputes and create a situation where a parallel law and order runs in the country. The Centre wants to end the autocracy of the Waqf Board. Notably, the preparations to bring the bill to amend the Act began before the Lok Sabha Elections 2024.
Reports suggest that the current NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi may table the amendment bill in Parliament on 5th August 2024. Not to forget, the 5th of August holds an important place in India’s history as on this day, the Modi government in its second tenure tabled to bill to remove Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in Parliament on 5th August 2019. Furthermore, Bhoomi Pujan for the construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was also done by PM Modi on 5th August 2020.
As per the reports, the proposed amendments include mandatory verification of claims made or to be made on properties by the Waqf Board. The verification will also be mandatory for disputed properties of Waqf Boards. It will help to curb the claims made by Waqf Boards on lands and other properties in different states and prevent disputes.
Waqf has 9.4 lakh acres of property
As per sources, the demand to change the existing laws has come from Muslim intellectuals, women and various sects like Shia and Bohra. Furthermore, it has to be noted that the powers that Waqf Boards have in India are not available in Islamic countries like Oman, Saudi Arabia and others.
There are around 8.7 lakh properties under Waqf Boards in different states. The total land under these properties is around 9.4 lakh acres. Notably, earlier the central government had taken cognisance of the misuse of power by the Waqf Boards in the states. In most of the states, there was a delay in the survey of the properties when the Waqf Boards claimed rights on them.
The central government has also considered the possibility of district magistrates to oversee Waqf properties. Any appeal against a decision made by the Waqf Board can only be made to the courts and these appeals are not time-bound. The court’s decision is considered to be final and cannot be challenged in the High Court except via PIL.
Congress gave unlimited rights to Waqf
Notably, the Waqf Act came into existence in 1954 under Jawaharlal Nehru’s government. Later, it was centralised. The aim was to give powers to Waqf Boards to manage Waqf properties. Since then, it has been amended several times. In 2012, the Congress-led UPA government amended the Basic Waqf Act and gave more powers to the Waqf Boards.
Waqf is an Arabic word that means dedicated property for public welfare. In Islam, Waqf is the property that is donated in the form of Zakat by people who believe in Islam. This wealth can be used only for the benefit of Muslims or for the spread of Islam.
The Waqf Properties fiasco
Before the NDA came to power in 2014, Congress had transferred 123 prime properties to the Waqf Board. It took the Modi-led NDA government almost a decade to get the properties back. Furthermore, in September 2022, it came to light that the Waqf Board claimed the entire village as Waqf property that included an 1100-year-old temple. The Tiruchenthurai village comprised only Hindus. The matter came to light when a person named Rajagopal tried to sell his land.
When Rajagopal reached the registrar’s office to sell his land, he found out that the land he was thinking of selling was not his, rather, the land had been converted into a Waqf and now its owner was the Waqf Board. Not only this, the land of all the villagers had been declared as Waqf property.
