NEW DELHI: The government’s plan to award custodians of Waqf properties has failed to take off. Despite having extended the deadline for receiving nominations for the annual awards, the Union Minority Affairs Ministry has received just one nomination for the awards. Officials attributed the lukewarm response to “corruption” in the Waqf boards. “The poor response from the Waqf Boards clearly indicates that they don’t want their accounts to come in public. The deep-rooted corruption in Waqf Boards is the primary reason for the poor response to these awards,” said a senior ministry official.
In March, the government had announced that it would award those ‘Mutawallis’ who ensure Waqf properties are used for optimum utilisation, especially for education of girls. A total of 12 such awards were to be given —three each in South, East, North, and West zones. The three awards comprise cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000 and Rs 50,000 each. The sole nomination came from the Andhra Pradesh State Waqf Board, sources said.
There are around six lakh Waqf properties in the country and these Waqf boards together hold approximately six lakh acres of land. Hundreds of cases regarding encroachment of Waqf propertiesare pending, and many Waqf authorities are accused of selling land for low rates in return for kickbacks. Earlier this year, allegations of corruption surfaced against the Telengana State Waqf Board. A team of Central Waqf Council recommended a CBI enquiry into the functioning of the Waqf Board there. The team pointed out that the Board failed to protect the Waqf properties.
In March 2017, the Maharashtra State Waqf Board removed its chief executive officer on an allegation that she misused the post by transferring some Waqf land to a private developer for a non-Waqf purpose. In 2006, the Justice Rajindar Sachar Committee had recommended stricter monitoring of properties governed by Waqf boards. However, those recommendations did not get implemented. In 2013, media reports surfaced that the government planned to bring Waqf properties under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, to guard them against illegal occupation but nothing really happened.