The Union government proposes to strip the Waqf Board of its powers to declare a property as its own, through a Bill to amend the Waqf, 1995, set to be tabled in Parliament this week.
The Bill proposes the inclusion of two Muslim women and two non-Muslim members in the Waqf Board, and inserts a new section to prevent the wrongful declaration of a property as ‘Waqf’. The proposed legislation introduces the district collector as an arbiter to decide if a property is a Waqf or government land. In the 1995 Act, such decisions are made by the Waqf Tribunal.
The Waqf comprises property or land donated by followers of Islam, and is presently managed by the members of the community. Waqf Boards currently control 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India, with an estimated value of ₹1.2 lakh crore. Collectively, this makes the Waqf Boards the third largest landowner in India, after the armed forces and the Indian Railways. The Waqf Act was last amended in 2013.
Unacceptable changes: AIMPLB
The Bill has drawn sharp criticism from Muslim bodies and Opposition parties, who termed it an act to create societal divides. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has hit out at the Bill and maintained that any change in the Waqf Act which alters the nature of Wakf properties, or makes it easier for the government or any individual to usurp them, will not be acceptable.
The Bill, a copy of which was circulated among Lok Sabha MPs on Wednesday (August 7, 2024), proposes to rename the Act as the ‘Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995’. The Bill “omits Section 40 relating to the powers of Board to decide if a property is waqf property”.
Power moved to Collector
“Any Government property identified or declared as waqf property, before or after the commencement of this Act, shall not be deemed to be a waqf property. If any question arises as to whether any such property is a Government property, the same shall be referred to the Collector having jurisdiction who shall make such inquiry as he deems fit, and determine whether such property is a Government property or not and submit his report to the State Government,” the Bill says, adding, “Provided that such property shall not be treated as waqf property till the Collector submits his report.”
It further proposes that, in case the Collector determines the property to belong to the government, he shall make necessary corrections in revenue records and submit a report in this regard to the State government, which is to then direct the Waqf Board to make an appropriate correction in the records.
Waqf deeds needed
The Bill says that no person shall create a Waqf unless he is the lawful owner of the property and competent to transfer or dedicate such property. Also, the creation of a ‘waqf-alal-aulad’ (Waqf deed) must not result in the denial of the inheritance rights of heirs, including women.
All Waqf already registered under the Act must file full details on the portal and database, within six months of the amendments becoming law, the Bill says.
Another proposed amendment is that no Waqf can be created without the execution of a Waqf deed. In Islamic law, a Waqf dedication may be made either in writing, or orally.
Women, non-Muslim representation
The proposed legislation will ensure the “representation of Muslim women and non-Muslims” in the Central Waqf Council and the State Waqf Boards, by incuding two women and two non-Muslims among their members.
“Board shall have at least one member each from Shia, Sunni and other backward classes among Muslim Communities and one member each from Bohra and Aghakhani communities shall be nominated in the Board in case they have functional auqaf [assets] in the State or Union territory,” the Bill says. It also provides for the establishment of a separate Board of Auqaf for “Boharas and Aghakhanis”.
The Bill seeks to amend Section 23 of the Act, relating to the appointment of a Chief Executive Officer and his term of office and other conditions of service, to ensure that the officer is not below the rank of a Joint Secretary to the State government; it also omits the requirement that the CEO is a Muslim.
‘Further improvement’
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s statement of objects and reasons for the amendment Bill said that, though the Waqf Act, 1995, had been enacted to provide for the better administration of Auqaf, it has not proved effective in this regard.
The Act was comprehensively amended in 2013, based on the recommendations of a high-level committee under the chairmanship of Justice (Retired) Rajinder Sachar, the report of a Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf and Central Waqf Council, and after detailed consultation with other stakeholders.
“Despite the amendments, it has been observed that the Act still requires further improvement to effectively address issues related to the powers of the State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of waqf properties, removal of encroachments, including the definition of the ‘waqf’ itself,” the statement says.