The parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has sought details from various state governments about the veracity and updated details of Waqf properties which, according to the Sachar committee, they had occupied in an unauthorised manner, sources said. The parliamentary committee, whose tenure has been extended by Lok Sabha till the last day of the next Budget Session, has also sought from the states details of the properties claimed by Waqf boards exercising Section 40 of the Waqf Act. Section 40, an amendment effected during the Congress-led UPA Government’s tenure in 2013, is one of the most hotly contested features of the existing law as it has given Waqf boards the power to decide if any property belongs to the Waqf or not.

 

The proposed law, which has faced flack from Opposition parties and various Muslim groups for its alleged attempts to interfere in religious matters, has sought to curb this power while making a slew of other changes in the existing Act. The sources said the parliamentary panel has decided to get an update on the points made by the Sachar Committee on the Waqf properties that are allegedly in unauthorised occupation of state governments or their official agencies. The Sachar Committee was informed by various State Waqf boards during 2005-06 about the alleged unauthorised occupation.

 

The parliamentary panel has been collecting information from States through the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. Sources said the panel headed by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal has noted that there were 316 such properties in Delhi, 60 in Rajasthan and 42 in Karnataka reported to the Sachar Committee in 2005-06. While 53 of them were in Madhya Pradesh, 60 were in Uttar Pradesh and 53 in Odisha. The committee has sought updates from all these six States, the sources said, adding that, the panel has got information from several other States. “The chief ministers of the above States may kindly investigate in detail into the veracity of this information in the Sachar Committee Report... And update this Committee in detail,” a source said, citing the communication. State governments have also been urged to share details of the cases where their agencies are involved in a legal dispute with Waqf boards over ownership or possession of any property, with the panel noting that the Sachar Committee had stated its list was not exhaustive.

 

The UPA Government constituted the Sachar Committee in 2005 to study the social, economic and educational status of the Muslim community in India. It submitted its report in 2006 highlighting the poor status of Muslims on all these indicators as it recommended a host of measures. Lok Sabha had, on November 28, adopted a resolution to extend the tenure of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill till the last day of the Budget Session of Parliament next year. The parliamentary panel’s meetings have become a political battleground, with the ruling BJP and Opposition members vociferously debating the changes proposed by the Government. Opposition members had been calling for extending its tenure, which was to end on November 29, and the committee took a unanimous decision to seek more time despite Pal’s earlier assertion that he was ready with the draft report. He has asserted that he has accommodated the views of every Opposition member, rejecting their allegation of “bulldozing” the proceedings of the panel’s meetings.

 

 

Chandrababu Naidu-led NDA Government in Andhra Pradesh has dissolved the State Waqf Board nominated by the previous Government. The Minorities Welfare Department on Saturday (November 30) issued a Government Order, withdrawing the GO issued in October last year, constituting the Waqf Board. The then Government of YSR Congress Party had constituted the 11-member Waqf Board following a High Court order. Three of them were elected members while the remaining were nominated. On a petition challenging the process followed to constitute the Waqf Board, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 1, 2023, stayed the election of the chairperson of the State Waqf Board.

 

The GO number 75 issued on Saturday mentions that the Chief Executive Officer of the State Waqf Board brought to the Government’s attention the prolonged non-functioning of the Board and the pendency of writ petitions questioning the legality of G.O. Ms. No. 47 to resolve the litigations and prevent an administrative vacuum. Minorities Welfare Department Secretary Kati Harshvardhan stated in the latest GO that after careful consideration of the observations made by the High Court and in the interest of maintaining good governance, protection of Waqf properties and ensuring the smooth functioning of the Waqf Board, the Government hereby withdraws G.O. Ms. No. 47 dated 21.10.2023, with immediate effect. Meanwhile, Minister for Minority Welfare N Md Farooq said in a statement that the coalition Government withdrew the GO issued by the previous Government. He said, after some individuals had approached the High Court, challenging the nomination of Waqf Board members, the High Court had passed interim orders to stay the election of the chairperson.

 

The Minister stated that due to legal issues, there was a vacuum in the functioning of the Waqf Board and to overcome it, the coalition Government issued a new GO, withdrawing the earlier GO. “The coalition Government headed by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is committed to the protection and management of Waqf properties and the welfare of minorities. The Government is taking steps in this direction,” Farooq said. In September, the coalition Government appointed TDP leader Shaik Abdul Aziz as Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board. Abdul Aziz, a former Mayor of Nellore, is currently the TDP President for the Nellore parliamentary constituency. The dissolution of the Waqf Board constituted by the previous Government may clear the decks for constituting the new Board headed by Abdul Aziz.