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NEW DELHI: With the Centre’s December 5 deadline just days away, Waqf boards across Punjab, Haryana and Delhi are locked in a desperate race against time, not because of pending paperwork, but due to a near-dysfunctional digital portal that has brought the entire process to a standstill.
The Umeed portal, introduced by the Union government for uploading registered Waqf properties, has been plagued with technical failures so severe that staff across different states has been spending nights in their offices, working on rented mattresses and blankets, hoping to catch the system during the rare moments it comes alive. Officials say the portal typically becomes functional only in the dead of night, sometimes around 2 am, sometimes closer to 5 am and even then, the server crashes within 30 minutes.
The result is a massive backlog. Punjab, which has around 26,000 properties, has managed to upload only 12,000 so far, leaving a staggering 14,000 pending. Haryana, with over 12,000 properties, is struggling to clear the last 300 entries. Delhi, which has 2,250 properties, still has 650 left to upload.
In Delhi, Waqf Board CEO Azim-ul-Haque says the situation is even more precarious because not a single property has moved beyond the second level of verification. “There are three levels—maker, checker, and approver. I am the approver, and not even one property has reached my stage yet. The portal is poorly designed. We have been writing to the ministry but no issues have been resolved,” he said.
He added that while the board may be able to show that properties have been checked by December 5, completing all uploads appears unlikely. “If we fail, we will approach the Tribunal, but the Tribunal in Delhi is not functional. We don’t know how long the wait will be.”
Delhi Waqf Board Chairman Amanatullah Khan confirmed that a representation has been made to Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, urging an extension of the deadline. “If the government genuinely wants to save these properties, it must extend the date. Otherwise, every property will end up in court,” he said.
In Punjab, the pressure is even more intense. “We have to upload 14,000 properties in four days,” a staff worker in Chandigarh said. “Our team is working nonstop, but the portal hardly works. We stay alert on phone calls to inform each other the moment it opens.”
A senior official in the Haryana Waqf Board said the system became functional only two months after rules were notified in April. “Since then, it’s been a struggle. One staffer sits waiting for the OTP, another tries to upload. This is not how a national portal should function.”
As the deadline approaches, frustration is mounting and uncertainty looms not just over compliance, but over the fate of thousands of Waqf properties hanging in the balance.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Waqf Board, in a recent letter to the Minority Affairs Ministry, highlighted that by November 27, 2025, only 2,788 of its 82,000 properties had been uploaded by mutawallis. “Take immediate and necessary steps to restore the normal functioning of the UMEED central portal,” the letter stated.
‘Typically becomes functional at night’
The Umeed portal, introduced by the Union government for uploading registered Waqf properties, has been plagued with technical failures so severe that staff across different states has been spending nights in their offices, hoping to catch the system during the rare moments it comes alive. Officials say the portal typically becomes functional only in the night.