Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Apr 3: Union Minister and Leader of the Rajya Sabha, J.P. Nadda, on Thursday emphasized that the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability while preventing the misuse of public assets. He revealed that nearly 5,970 government properties had been wrongfully designated as Waqf assets over the decades due to loopholes in the existing laws.
Speaking during the debate on the Bill, Nadda highlighted the need for a non-partisan discussion on how public properties—including lakes, farmland, and even temples—ended up classified as Waqf properties. Citing data collected from 25 states and Union Territories up to September 2024, he pointed out that 123 properties under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had been publicly declared as Waqf assets, raising concerns over the systematic misuse of legal provisions.
Referring to Karnataka, he noted that between 1975 and 2020, 40 government properties—including lakes and farmlands—were designated as Waqf assets, reinforcing the need for corrective measures.
Nadda clarified that the new Bill safeguards the interests of tribal communities by ensuring that lands under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution—covering tribal zones in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Mizoram—cannot be converted into Waqf properties.
According to government data, Waqf Boards currently control approximately 8.7 lakh properties spanning 9.4 lakh acres across India, with an estimated value of ?1.2 lakh crore. India holds the largest Waqf land assets in the world, making the Waqf Board the second-largest landowner in the country, after the Armed Forces and Indian Railways.
At present, there are 3,56,051 registered Waqf estates, including 8,72,328 immovable properties and 16,713 movable assets. So far, 3,30,000 records have been digitized.
Nadda also shed light on the inefficiencies in Waqf tribunals, revealing that 40,951 cases remain pending with the Waqf Administration. Of these, 9,942 cases were filed by members of the Muslim community against Waqf management institutions. He criticized the prolonged delays in case resolutions and noted that the current legal framework lacks judicial oversight over tribunal decisions.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these longstanding issues, ensuring stricter governance, preventing land misappropriation, and bringing accountability to Waqf property management.