The Uttar Pradesh government on Tuesday submitted before the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on Waqf (Amendment) Act 2024 that out of the 14,000 hectares claimed to be Waqf property, as much as 11,000 hectares are government land.
The government also refused to recognise the Asafi (Bada) Imambara and Chhota Imambara in Lucknow, and the Bahu Begum Ka Maqbara in Faizabad (now Ayodhya), as Waqf properties.
In Uttar Pradesh, a total of 1.25 lakh properties are registered with the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, and 7,785 properties with the Shia Waqf Board.
The JPC meeting on the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2024 was held in Lucknow on Tuesday. Suggestions and objections were sought from Muslim religious leaders and organisations.
A total of 11 members, including JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal and member Asaduddin Owaisi, participated in the meeting.
Prominent attendees included Shia Waqf Board Chairman Ali Zaidi, Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, Maulana Sufiyan Nizami, representatives from Jamaat-e-Islami, the Milli Council, and officials from other organisations. This marked JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal’s second visit to Lucknow.
During his earlier visit, he met with Muslim community leaders and intellectuals.
Sources said that Pal held extensive discussions with Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali and Maulana Saif Abbas about the bill.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Pal said, “This law is being introduced for the betterment. Today was our last meeting in Lucknow. Earlier, similar meetings were held in various states. In today’s discussion, we also consulted Minister Danish Azad Ansari, Minister OP Rajbhar, and the Shia Waqf Board and UP Sunni Central Waqf Board.”
AIMIM national president and MP Asaduddin Owaisi alleged that the new law aims to undermine Waqf properties, as the ‘Bada Imambara, Chhota Imambara in Lucknow, and Bahu Begum tomb in Ayodhya have not been considered as Waqf properties by the government.”
“How can there be a non-Muslim member in the Waqf Board? All power will be transferred to the collector, who will function according to the government. The bill has many shortcomings, which is why it is facing opposition,” said Owaisi.
The Uttar Pradesh government defended its position, stating that a comprehensive survey of Waqf properties had been conducted.
Officials noted that there had previously been no data on Waqf properties in the state, including registration details or figures on confiscated land.
The government cited findings from the Sachar Committee, which identified 60 properties as government-owned.
Jagdambika Pal emphasised the productive nature of the meeting, stating that discussions were held in a constructive atmosphere.
He noted that complaints are frequently received about the misuse of Waqf properties and cited examples of vast land holdings, such as 5,000 acres in Pilibhit and 70,000 acres in other areas, which require proper management.
The UP government had, in September 2022, decided to undertake a survey of all the Waqf properties in the state. The UP government overturned a 1989 government order that mandated automatic registration of high or mounded land, barren land, and Usar land as Waqf property. The government had then issued directions to all the district magistrates and commissioners to re-examine the documents of all the properties that had been registered under Waqf since April 7, 1989, and to record the status of such lands.
The government says that the cemetery, mosque, and Idgah land should be properly demarcated because, under the 1989 ordinance, many such properties, which were Usar, Banjar, and Bhita in the revenue records, were also declared Waqf properties.
Under the guise of this order, some cultivable land was also automatically registered as Waqf property, sources said.
The government maintains that under the Muslim Waqf Act of 1960, no Waqf property can be automatically registered. The 1989 order, however, revealed that many properties were registered with the Waqf Board without any application, leading to the ordinance.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav vociferously opposed the survey, saying, “We are against the survey of Waqf properties by the state government. It should not be done. This government wants to keep people entangled only in the Hindu-Muslim issue.”