A year later, Central Wakf Council remains to be re-constituted
New Delhi: The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat has expressed its regret that the Central Wakf Council (CWC) has not been re-constituted for nearly one year after the expiry of its term despite the fact that the Wakf (Amendment) Bill strengthens the role and functions of the Council and gives it the power to supervise the working of the State Wakf Boards.
Established in 1964, Central Wakf Council is a statutory body that supposed to advise the Government of India on maintaining the waqfs. Currently Minority Affairs Minister Mr. Salman Khurshid is the chairman. All state wakf boards are the affiliated with CWC and pay 1% of their income to CWC. All expenses of CWC are paid from this income.
Mushawarat president Syed Shahabuddin in a press release asked for the reconstitution of the CWC and also offered suggestions for the improvement of the Council.
1. CWC should elect its own chairman.
2. Form inter-state wakf boards each covering one thousand waqf estates.
3. Reject separate Class-I service to administer waqfs.
4. Stte governments must bear entire administrative expenditure of Wakf Boards.
5. All major State Wakf Boards should be continuously represented in the CWC.
Central Wakf Council Remains to be Re-Constituted.
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ghulam muhammed
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ghulam muhammed
- Posts: 11653
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Re: Central Wakf Council Remains to be Re-Constituted.
Stop this corruption
Agitated Muslims are asking for a review of the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2010
*Mohammed Wajihuddin TNN *
Shoppers visiting the glitzy City Centre Mall at Mumbai Central may notbe aware of it but buried beneath the giant structure is a sad story. Theland on which the mall stands once housed an orphanage run by a Muslim trust. In 2004, its fortune changed irretrievably, as the charity commissioner permitted the orphanage’s trustees to sell the land to Shahid Balwa’s Neelkamal Realtors and Builders, part of DB Realty—for a mere Rs 1 crore. The orphanage was demolished and the mall and multi-storied towers that came up in its place made Balwa richer by over Rs 500 crore, estimate real estate sources.
Today, as Balwa cools his heels in Tihar Jail for alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam, the Maharashtra Waqf Bachao Committee (MWBC), an NGO in Mumbai, is gearing up to petition the Bombay high court against the sale of this and several other Waqf properties ( properties donated by Muslims for the sole purpose of benefiting less privileged community members). The Waqf Board has around 500,000 properties worth Rs 1,20,000 crore across the country, but the annual income from this huge wealth is, thanks to gross mismanagement, a mere Rs 168 crore.
Perhaps there would have been no need for the MWBC’s PIL, had there been a strong law to prevent the blatant misuse of Waqf properties by the trustee-politician-builder nexus. But the bill that was introduced in Parliament for this purpose—the Waqf Amendment Bill—has also failed the Muslim community. The bill ignored vital recommendations of the Sachar Committee (2006) and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (2008), yet was passed without a debate by the Lok Sabha in May 2010. It is currently before a select committee of the Rajya Sabha.
One of the leading critics of the bill is Syed Zafar Mahmood, president of the Delhibased NGO Zakat Foundation of India. “In its current form the bill betrays the government’s lack of interest in protecting Waqf properties,” says Mahmood, who recently gave a talk on the loopholes in the bill. “If these loopholes are not plugged, we will never be able to protect Waqf properties from the land mafia.” Mahmood, a former IAS officer, served as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Office while the Sachar report was being prepared.
So, what were the recommendations that were ignored while drafting the bill? “The Sachar Committee had suggested that the minister of minority affairs, being already burdened with the responsibility of his ministry, not be made ex-officio president of the Central Waqf Council, the nodal agency for Waqf affairs—in his place, it recommended an eminent personality like a retired judge of the Supreme Court,” says Mahmood. “But since politicians don’t want to let go their hold on cash cows like the Waqf, this recommendation was rejected.” Again, the JPC had recommended that a survey of all Waqf properties, as they existed on August 15, 1947, be made compulsory since many irregularities happen in the absence of a survey—some years ago, a leading industrialist had circumvented the controversy about his buying a Waqf property by getting the chairman of the Waqf board to declare that the property did not belong to the Waqf Board. The bill has, however, made a survey optional.
The Sachar committee and JPC had also recommended that the CEOs of State Waqf Boards, mandatorily Muslims, should rank with senior officers of the state governments—the Sachar Committee had even suggested a new cadre called Indian Waqf Service (IQS). However, the bill rejected this too. “Senior officers were recommended because they have the powers—for instance, if encroachment happens, they can order the district collector of the area to remove it,” says Mahmood. “In several states, primary schoolteachers, tehsildars and unani doctors work as CEOs of Waqf boards. How can they function effectively?” Anees Ahmed, a former minority affairs minister in Maharashtra, agrees that a school teacher would not have the courage or wherewithal to direct a collector to remove encroachments on Waqf
properties.
Evidently, the MWBC’s PIL asking for a review of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2010 is not uncalled for. And if it is indeed reviewed, the next Balwa will not be able to buy an orphanage for a throwaway price and make a killing out of it.
Agitated Muslims are asking for a review of the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2010
*Mohammed Wajihuddin TNN *
Shoppers visiting the glitzy City Centre Mall at Mumbai Central may notbe aware of it but buried beneath the giant structure is a sad story. Theland on which the mall stands once housed an orphanage run by a Muslim trust. In 2004, its fortune changed irretrievably, as the charity commissioner permitted the orphanage’s trustees to sell the land to Shahid Balwa’s Neelkamal Realtors and Builders, part of DB Realty—for a mere Rs 1 crore. The orphanage was demolished and the mall and multi-storied towers that came up in its place made Balwa richer by over Rs 500 crore, estimate real estate sources.
Today, as Balwa cools his heels in Tihar Jail for alleged involvement in the 2G spectrum scam, the Maharashtra Waqf Bachao Committee (MWBC), an NGO in Mumbai, is gearing up to petition the Bombay high court against the sale of this and several other Waqf properties ( properties donated by Muslims for the sole purpose of benefiting less privileged community members). The Waqf Board has around 500,000 properties worth Rs 1,20,000 crore across the country, but the annual income from this huge wealth is, thanks to gross mismanagement, a mere Rs 168 crore.
Perhaps there would have been no need for the MWBC’s PIL, had there been a strong law to prevent the blatant misuse of Waqf properties by the trustee-politician-builder nexus. But the bill that was introduced in Parliament for this purpose—the Waqf Amendment Bill—has also failed the Muslim community. The bill ignored vital recommendations of the Sachar Committee (2006) and the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf (2008), yet was passed without a debate by the Lok Sabha in May 2010. It is currently before a select committee of the Rajya Sabha.
One of the leading critics of the bill is Syed Zafar Mahmood, president of the Delhibased NGO Zakat Foundation of India. “In its current form the bill betrays the government’s lack of interest in protecting Waqf properties,” says Mahmood, who recently gave a talk on the loopholes in the bill. “If these loopholes are not plugged, we will never be able to protect Waqf properties from the land mafia.” Mahmood, a former IAS officer, served as an Officer on Special Duty in the Prime Minister’s Office while the Sachar report was being prepared.
So, what were the recommendations that were ignored while drafting the bill? “The Sachar Committee had suggested that the minister of minority affairs, being already burdened with the responsibility of his ministry, not be made ex-officio president of the Central Waqf Council, the nodal agency for Waqf affairs—in his place, it recommended an eminent personality like a retired judge of the Supreme Court,” says Mahmood. “But since politicians don’t want to let go their hold on cash cows like the Waqf, this recommendation was rejected.” Again, the JPC had recommended that a survey of all Waqf properties, as they existed on August 15, 1947, be made compulsory since many irregularities happen in the absence of a survey—some years ago, a leading industrialist had circumvented the controversy about his buying a Waqf property by getting the chairman of the Waqf board to declare that the property did not belong to the Waqf Board. The bill has, however, made a survey optional.
The Sachar committee and JPC had also recommended that the CEOs of State Waqf Boards, mandatorily Muslims, should rank with senior officers of the state governments—the Sachar Committee had even suggested a new cadre called Indian Waqf Service (IQS). However, the bill rejected this too. “Senior officers were recommended because they have the powers—for instance, if encroachment happens, they can order the district collector of the area to remove it,” says Mahmood. “In several states, primary schoolteachers, tehsildars and unani doctors work as CEOs of Waqf boards. How can they function effectively?” Anees Ahmed, a former minority affairs minister in Maharashtra, agrees that a school teacher would not have the courage or wherewithal to direct a collector to remove encroachments on Waqf
properties.
Evidently, the MWBC’s PIL asking for a review of the Waqf Amendment Bill 2010 is not uncalled for. And if it is indeed reviewed, the next Balwa will not be able to buy an orphanage for a throwaway price and make a killing out of it.
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Central Wakf Council Remains to be Re-Constituted.
Former Minister K. Rehman said large scale corruption in the waqaf Boards are defeating the very purpose of their existence. While the Boards need more power and teeth, they should only be granted after a thorough administrative overhaul.
There is huge corruption in state Waqf Boards and because of this, Waqf properties cannot be used for the purpose they are meant for. Ruling parties have given the responsibilities of the Waqf Boards to their party workers, despite the fact that they lack the desired skills to administer the boards. In addition, they are corrupt. They have not lived up to the expectations of the community. Whether it is the security of the properties, illegal encroachment on Waqf properties or the rent coming from these properties, the boards have completely failed on all fronts. He further told that We should unitedly take up the cause of the Waqf properties. All Muslims should take the issue of illegal encroachment over the Waqf properties very seriously. Generally speaking, Waqf in Islam connotes donations by individuals and institutions in the name of God for the benefit of the poor and the needy. While it continues to discharge its main obligations across the country, the 35-state Waqf Boards in India are by no means a catchall welfare net. They are owners of huge properties and owe surprisingly little accountability to the constituents they purport to serve.
The credentials of the powerful Waqf Boards makes for interesting reading: five lakh registered properties with more than 600,000 acres of land and an estimated Rs 1,20,000 crore worth of book value with a measly Rs 163 crore coming in as rentals, hoardings, change of ownership and through sales, speakers said.
Introspecting on the state of waqf management, prominent leaders of the Muslim community have blamed Muslims for the mismanagement of 1.10 lakh Waqf bodies holding four lakh acres of waqf lands all over the country. In a day-long national seminar on Nizaam e Auqaaf (system of waqfs) for preservation, awareness and development of Waqf properties here K Rahman Khan, former Union Minister for Minority Affairs, expressed dissatisfaction at working of Waqf bodies in the country, “for which no one can be blamed except Muslims,” he said.
The event marked the centenary year of Ahmedabad Sunni Muslim Waqf Committee. Khan said the new waqf act would change things for the better. He said the act provided for doing away with exemption for waqf properties from rent rules, which was a good sign for financial health of waqf bodies. Secondly, he said the provision for setting up of dedicated three-member tribunals to decided on Waqf property related disputes would accelerate disposal of cases.
National-level leaders including former Union minority affairs minister K Rahaman Khan, additional attorney general Zafaryab Jilani were also present at the seminar. Talking about the controversy, businessman Naseer Shaikh said, “I tried to draw attention of dignitaries to the issue of encroachment on Waqf property, but I was not allowed to speak. Organizers told me to wait till the question-answer session. I waited but finally I was not allowed to talk about intrusion on Musa Suhag Kabristan by Dharmadev Group builders. A PIL has also been filed in the Gujarat High Court.”
Kaleem Siddiqui, president of Tarkash Foundation, said, “We had participated in the seminar with documentary evidence. But after waiting till 4:30 pm, when we tried to raise the issue again in the evening, organisers deployed bouncers around us.”
Rizwan Kadri, president of Ahmedabad Sunni Waqf Committee, countered the allegation citing discipline issue. “Decorum should be maintained in every event. We already had question-answer session at the end of seminar. But some participants tried to disturb the lectures of dignitaries. We had asked them to submit their questions in writing for the session. They didn’t have correct data. I replied to their queries saying that we are only trustees and we will be bound by the HC’s verdict. We don’t have prejudice against anyone.” General secretary of Gujarat state unit of All India Milli Council’s Abdul Hafiz Lakhani said, “If the organisers were transparent, they should have given protestors an opportunity to speak.”
There is huge corruption in state Waqf Boards and because of this, Waqf properties cannot be used for the purpose they are meant for. Ruling parties have given the responsibilities of the Waqf Boards to their party workers, despite the fact that they lack the desired skills to administer the boards. In addition, they are corrupt. They have not lived up to the expectations of the community. Whether it is the security of the properties, illegal encroachment on Waqf properties or the rent coming from these properties, the boards have completely failed on all fronts. He further told that We should unitedly take up the cause of the Waqf properties. All Muslims should take the issue of illegal encroachment over the Waqf properties very seriously. Generally speaking, Waqf in Islam connotes donations by individuals and institutions in the name of God for the benefit of the poor and the needy. While it continues to discharge its main obligations across the country, the 35-state Waqf Boards in India are by no means a catchall welfare net. They are owners of huge properties and owe surprisingly little accountability to the constituents they purport to serve.
The credentials of the powerful Waqf Boards makes for interesting reading: five lakh registered properties with more than 600,000 acres of land and an estimated Rs 1,20,000 crore worth of book value with a measly Rs 163 crore coming in as rentals, hoardings, change of ownership and through sales, speakers said.
Introspecting on the state of waqf management, prominent leaders of the Muslim community have blamed Muslims for the mismanagement of 1.10 lakh Waqf bodies holding four lakh acres of waqf lands all over the country. In a day-long national seminar on Nizaam e Auqaaf (system of waqfs) for preservation, awareness and development of Waqf properties here K Rahman Khan, former Union Minister for Minority Affairs, expressed dissatisfaction at working of Waqf bodies in the country, “for which no one can be blamed except Muslims,” he said.
The event marked the centenary year of Ahmedabad Sunni Muslim Waqf Committee. Khan said the new waqf act would change things for the better. He said the act provided for doing away with exemption for waqf properties from rent rules, which was a good sign for financial health of waqf bodies. Secondly, he said the provision for setting up of dedicated three-member tribunals to decided on Waqf property related disputes would accelerate disposal of cases.
National-level leaders including former Union minority affairs minister K Rahaman Khan, additional attorney general Zafaryab Jilani were also present at the seminar. Talking about the controversy, businessman Naseer Shaikh said, “I tried to draw attention of dignitaries to the issue of encroachment on Waqf property, but I was not allowed to speak. Organizers told me to wait till the question-answer session. I waited but finally I was not allowed to talk about intrusion on Musa Suhag Kabristan by Dharmadev Group builders. A PIL has also been filed in the Gujarat High Court.”
Kaleem Siddiqui, president of Tarkash Foundation, said, “We had participated in the seminar with documentary evidence. But after waiting till 4:30 pm, when we tried to raise the issue again in the evening, organisers deployed bouncers around us.”
Rizwan Kadri, president of Ahmedabad Sunni Waqf Committee, countered the allegation citing discipline issue. “Decorum should be maintained in every event. We already had question-answer session at the end of seminar. But some participants tried to disturb the lectures of dignitaries. We had asked them to submit their questions in writing for the session. They didn’t have correct data. I replied to their queries saying that we are only trustees and we will be bound by the HC’s verdict. We don’t have prejudice against anyone.” General secretary of Gujarat state unit of All India Milli Council’s Abdul Hafiz Lakhani said, “If the organisers were transparent, they should have given protestors an opportunity to speak.”
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Central Wakf Council Remains to be Re-Constituted.
CORRUPT WAQF BOARDS
In the Name of Allah – Widespread Waqf Board Corruption
1) A waqf (or wakf) is a religious organisation under Islamic law. It is a charitable trust that holds lands, cash or similar assets in trust for various benevolent purposes such as helping the poor, widows, divorced women and orphans and so on. Waqf endowments are typically tax free. In India, various waqf boards manage lands and assets donated by wealthy individuals and supposedly utilise these resources for the upliftment of the poor; reality however is rather different that this avowed purpose.
2) Among the most high profile cases of highly questionable if not downright corrupt waqf actions is the matter of the plot of land sold to Mukesh Ambani for his Mumbai home Antilia. Not only is the home supposed to be the most expensive private home in world, it is also built on some of the costliest real estate in India if not the world. The land was meant to be for an orphanage but was sold to the business tycoon for 210.5 million when in fact the market value was nearly 10 times as much.
3) A couple of years ago the Karnataka Wakf Board scam broke. This scam is thought to run to about Rs 2 lakh crore or a staggering 2 trillion. In this matter, about 27,000 acres of land controlled by the state’s wakf board was either allocated illegally or misappropriated. Again this was land donated for the poor, but about 50% of the land was misappropriated by board members or politicians in collusion with real estate mafia. (Source – India Today)
4) In another instance of waqf related corruption, Maharashtra Wakf Board chief executive officer (CEO) ND Pathan was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000. The bribe was demanded for extending a lease by the waqf CEO who was apparently known to have issued many suspect no-objection certificates to Mumbai builders. (Source – DNA)
5) In Kerala as well, the wakf board and its functioning came under the scanner, for alleged corruption, irregularities and mismanagement of assets by ‘muthuvallies’ (local custodians of Wakf property). Irregularities were found in the construction of the Wakf Board headquarters as well as staff appointments. (Source – Indian Express)
6) More recently, Uttar Pradesh Waqf minister Mohd Azam Khan has been charged with appointing corrupt persons to Shia Central Board in the state. The apprehension is that waqf properties would be looted (Source – Times)
7) Well known people in posts of some importance have been implicated in these matters of corruption, such as Ahmad Bukhari, the Imam of Jama Masjid of Delhi, Maulana Muazzam Ahmed, the Naib-Imam of the Shahi Masjid, Fatehpuri, Delhi and others. There have been instances of the misappropriation of heritage properties such as the site of the Anglo Arabic School, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi or the case of the Windsor Manor Hotel in Bangalore (worth more than Rs 600 crore, but leased for a Rs 12,000 per month). (Source – Deccan Herald)
The minority affairs ministry is also thought to be in on the act to use wakf properties and to exploit them commercially. Malls, hotels and other social institutions are found to come up on prime land that was donated for a wholly different purpose than the commercial one that it is actually used for, though the avowed purpose is the welfare of the community. (Source India Today)
http://indiaopines.com/corrupt-waqf-boards/
In the Name of Allah – Widespread Waqf Board Corruption
1) A waqf (or wakf) is a religious organisation under Islamic law. It is a charitable trust that holds lands, cash or similar assets in trust for various benevolent purposes such as helping the poor, widows, divorced women and orphans and so on. Waqf endowments are typically tax free. In India, various waqf boards manage lands and assets donated by wealthy individuals and supposedly utilise these resources for the upliftment of the poor; reality however is rather different that this avowed purpose.
2) Among the most high profile cases of highly questionable if not downright corrupt waqf actions is the matter of the plot of land sold to Mukesh Ambani for his Mumbai home Antilia. Not only is the home supposed to be the most expensive private home in world, it is also built on some of the costliest real estate in India if not the world. The land was meant to be for an orphanage but was sold to the business tycoon for 210.5 million when in fact the market value was nearly 10 times as much.
3) A couple of years ago the Karnataka Wakf Board scam broke. This scam is thought to run to about Rs 2 lakh crore or a staggering 2 trillion. In this matter, about 27,000 acres of land controlled by the state’s wakf board was either allocated illegally or misappropriated. Again this was land donated for the poor, but about 50% of the land was misappropriated by board members or politicians in collusion with real estate mafia. (Source – India Today)
4) In another instance of waqf related corruption, Maharashtra Wakf Board chief executive officer (CEO) ND Pathan was caught accepting a bribe of Rs 30,000. The bribe was demanded for extending a lease by the waqf CEO who was apparently known to have issued many suspect no-objection certificates to Mumbai builders. (Source – DNA)
5) In Kerala as well, the wakf board and its functioning came under the scanner, for alleged corruption, irregularities and mismanagement of assets by ‘muthuvallies’ (local custodians of Wakf property). Irregularities were found in the construction of the Wakf Board headquarters as well as staff appointments. (Source – Indian Express)
6) More recently, Uttar Pradesh Waqf minister Mohd Azam Khan has been charged with appointing corrupt persons to Shia Central Board in the state. The apprehension is that waqf properties would be looted (Source – Times)
7) Well known people in posts of some importance have been implicated in these matters of corruption, such as Ahmad Bukhari, the Imam of Jama Masjid of Delhi, Maulana Muazzam Ahmed, the Naib-Imam of the Shahi Masjid, Fatehpuri, Delhi and others. There have been instances of the misappropriation of heritage properties such as the site of the Anglo Arabic School, Ajmeri Gate, Delhi or the case of the Windsor Manor Hotel in Bangalore (worth more than Rs 600 crore, but leased for a Rs 12,000 per month). (Source – Deccan Herald)
The minority affairs ministry is also thought to be in on the act to use wakf properties and to exploit them commercially. Malls, hotels and other social institutions are found to come up on prime land that was donated for a wholly different purpose than the commercial one that it is actually used for, though the avowed purpose is the welfare of the community. (Source India Today)http://indiaopines.com/corrupt-waqf-boards/
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ghulam muhammed
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Re: Central Wakf Council Remains to be Re-Constituted.
NDA govt to wage war on ‘ waqf mafia’
THE Narendra Modi government has initiated a crackdown against the nexus between land mafia and officials in state waqf boards who have connived with them to facilitate encroachment upon vast swathes of prime waqf land across the country.
To deal with complaints regarding waqf properties, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has decided to establish tribunals at the Centre as well as the state level.
The one at the Centre would be a singlemember body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, while those at the state level would be a three- member body headed by a retired judge of a High Court.
Union Minister of State ( Independent charge) for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, told Mail Today that the ministry had initiated a high- level inquiry into all allegations about misappropriation of waqf land complaints received from several states.
“ Serious complaints had been received regarding the mafia grabbing waqf properties in some states in connivance with officials of state waqf boards. In fact, there is a full- blown scam that has come to light in Karnataka. Moreover, we also took note of news reports published in Mail Today . The matter was taken up in the Central Waqf Council and the decision to probe all such complaints was taken. Strict legal action will be taken soon against those involved in this illegal act,” Naqvi said.
According to sources in the ministry, the matter of the central tribunal had already been taken up with the Union Law Ministry and the latter had sent names of retired judges to the minority ministry for choosing the tribunal head.
“ We are in the process of considering a number of names, but we shall be able to see the tribunals working in about a month,” Naqvi added. “ A campaign on war- footing has been initiated by the central government to free waqf properties from the clutches of the mafia across the country so that these properties can be used for welfare of Muslims,” he added.
There are 31 state waqf boards and more than 4,27,000 registered waqf properties across the country. Besides, there are many non- registered waqf properties. Several waqf properties across the country are in the clutches of the waqf mafia.
Naqvi has already directed that all waqf properties be registered online by the end of this year.
“ In cooperation with the state governments, we will construct schools, colleges, malls, hospitals, skill development centres, etc. and the revenue generated will be utilised for educational and other developmental activities for Muslims,” Naqvi further said.
“ Multi- purpose community centres named Sadbhav Mandap will also be constructed on waqf lands, which will be utilised for marriage ceremonies, exhibitions and also relief centres during a natural calamity,” the minister added.
https://in.news.yahoo.com/nda-govt-wage ... 00554.html
THE Narendra Modi government has initiated a crackdown against the nexus between land mafia and officials in state waqf boards who have connived with them to facilitate encroachment upon vast swathes of prime waqf land across the country.
To deal with complaints regarding waqf properties, the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs has decided to establish tribunals at the Centre as well as the state level.
The one at the Centre would be a singlemember body headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, while those at the state level would be a three- member body headed by a retired judge of a High Court.
Union Minister of State ( Independent charge) for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, told Mail Today that the ministry had initiated a high- level inquiry into all allegations about misappropriation of waqf land complaints received from several states.
“ Serious complaints had been received regarding the mafia grabbing waqf properties in some states in connivance with officials of state waqf boards. In fact, there is a full- blown scam that has come to light in Karnataka. Moreover, we also took note of news reports published in Mail Today . The matter was taken up in the Central Waqf Council and the decision to probe all such complaints was taken. Strict legal action will be taken soon against those involved in this illegal act,” Naqvi said.
According to sources in the ministry, the matter of the central tribunal had already been taken up with the Union Law Ministry and the latter had sent names of retired judges to the minority ministry for choosing the tribunal head.
“ We are in the process of considering a number of names, but we shall be able to see the tribunals working in about a month,” Naqvi added. “ A campaign on war- footing has been initiated by the central government to free waqf properties from the clutches of the mafia across the country so that these properties can be used for welfare of Muslims,” he added.
There are 31 state waqf boards and more than 4,27,000 registered waqf properties across the country. Besides, there are many non- registered waqf properties. Several waqf properties across the country are in the clutches of the waqf mafia.
Naqvi has already directed that all waqf properties be registered online by the end of this year.
“ In cooperation with the state governments, we will construct schools, colleges, malls, hospitals, skill development centres, etc. and the revenue generated will be utilised for educational and other developmental activities for Muslims,” Naqvi further said.
“ Multi- purpose community centres named Sadbhav Mandap will also be constructed on waqf lands, which will be utilised for marriage ceremonies, exhibitions and also relief centres during a natural calamity,” the minister added.
https://in.news.yahoo.com/nda-govt-wage ... 00554.html