98% of Waqf Properties in UP Under Threat: New Amendment Bill Sparks Concerns
Lucknow (The Uttam Hindu) : As soon as the new Waqf Amendment Act comes into force, 98% of Waqf properties in Uttar Pradesh will be in danger because 98% of Waqf properties in UP are not yet registered in the revenue records. After the implementation of the amended law, the concerned district officer will take the decision in the matters of these properties, not the Waqf Board.
The 57792 government properties on which the Waqf Board is claiming will also be out of its jurisdiction now. A big game has been played in the name of Waqf properties in UP since independence. According to the confidential report of the Minority Welfare Department of UP, the Waqf Boards have also registered the lands for public use as Waqf. There have been complaints of illegal registration of private lands as Waqf properties in many districts including Rampur, Hardoi. Now all these disputes will be heard by the District Magistrate and the decision will be taken on the basis of the revenue records of 1952. In UP, 57792 government properties are also illegally registered as Waqf properties, whose area is about 11712 acres. Such properties are in all the districts. As soon as the law comes into force, these properties will come out of the scope of Waqf in one go.
As soon as the amended law comes into force, these properties will come out of the scope of Waqf in one go, but the local administration will have to go to the spot and take possession of them. In many districts of UP, enemy properties have also been registered as Waqf, which will be easy to take back after completing the hearing process as per the rules. 132140 properties are registered as Waqf in the records of Shia and Sunni Waqf Board of UP, but the report of the Welfare Department also accepts that out of these only 2528 properties are registered as Waqf in the revenue records. After the amended law comes into force, it will not be easy to register the remaining properties in the revenue records because for this a long legal process of investigation will have to be completed.