NEW DELHI: 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. The move comes in the backdrop of demands from within the Muslim community, they claimed.
The Bill to amend the Waqf 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 boards have, they said. The Waqf boards have 8,72,292 properties spread over eight lakh acres.
The amendment Bill with as many as 40 changes in the current law could be brought in the ongoing Parliament session. The key changes 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. The changes in composition of the Waqf boards will ensure inclusion of women.
AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said, “The BJP has been against the Waqf board and Waqf properties since the beginning and there is a ‘Hindutva agenda’ of the RSS.”