KOZHIKODE: Muslim organisations have expressed serious concern over the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, that introduces sweeping changes in the management of waqf properties in the country. IUML national organising secretary E T Muhammad Basheer, MP, said the bill is aimed at enabling the Centre to have total control of the Wakf Council and the Waqf Boards in the states.
Basheer told reporters in New Delhi that if enacted the bill would spell doom for waqf properties throughout the country. Waqf Boards will be rendered mute spectators while the government will decide everything related to the properties, he said.
“There is a provision in the bill that enables encroachers to have rights over waqf properties. Waqf Boards cannot act even if it finds that a particular waqf property has been encroached on. The state is the largest encroacher of waqf properties in the country,” Basheer said.
He said another provision in the bill is that the Centre can nominate three MPs to the administrative committee. “There is no mention about their faith. Moreover, another provision says that two non-Muslims should also be included in the committee. There is also no mention about the faith of the CEO of the Waqf Board,” he said, adding that even a person who does not have any faith can be appointed as the CEO.
The new bill proposes that the power to conduct a survey of waqf properties is vested with district collectors. In all sense, the bill will mark the end of Waqf Boards, Basheer said.
Dr Fazal Gafoor, president of the Muslim Education Society (MES), said that the motive of the bill is suspicious.
“The government should have consulted the stakeholders before bringing in a bill that has far-reaching consequences,” he said.
The Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen (KNM) said all attempts to seize the powers of Waqf Boards that have quasi-judicial powers should be opposed legally. In a statement released on Wednesday, KNM state president T P Abdulla Koya Madani said the wealth donated by selfless people for the betterment of the Muslim community should be utilised only for that particular purpose. “There should have been consultations with the people concerned before amending laws that have been existing in the country for years,” he said.
WAQF BOARD WANTS STATE TO INTERVENE IN ISSUE
Kozhikode: Kerala Waqf Board has asked the state government to intervene in the issue of the Centre amending the Waqf Act of 1995 without any consultations with either the state governments or the Waqf Boards. The board meeting held in Kochi on Wednesday said the amendment proposes to take away the rights of the state Waqf Boards. The resolution said that Waqf is an issue where both the states and the Centre can enact laws but no discussion was held with the parties concerned. It amounts to the violation of the federal principles, the resolution said. Management and administration of religious institutions are religious fundamental rights. In 2013, the Joint Parliamentary Committee headed by Rehman Khan conducted sittings throughout the country and held discussions with all those concerned before bringing in amendments, the resolution said.