New Delhi. After the news came in the media, there was a discussion since Sunday that the Modi government may bring a bill to amend the Wakf Act on 5 August i.e. Monday, but this did not happen. Meanwhile, apart from Muslim organizations and leaders, the opposition also mobilized against any attempt to amend the Wakf Act. Now the news is that the bill to amend the Wakf Act will come this week. According to media reports, the Modi government will first bring the Wakf Act Amendment Bill in the Rajya Sabha. If the bill is passed there, it will be passed in the Lok Sabha as well.
According to sources, the unlimited powers of Waqf boards will end after the amendment in the Act. The way Waqf boards take over any land by claiming it as their own, will stop. Apart from this, there will be a provision to investigate the properties of Waqfs which are in dispute with their owners. Women and common Muslims will also get representation in Waqf boards. It is being told that Modi government will bring a bill to amend the 40th Waqf Act. According to sources, the government is mulling over the bill to amend the Waqf Act. 30 Waqf boards across the country have 8.7 lakh properties. The area of these properties is 9.4 lakh acres. In the matter of land, only the names of Army and Railways come before Waqf Board. Waqf Act was first made in 1954 during the Jawaharlal Nehru government. After this, Central Waqf Council was formed in 1964. In 1995, the Act was amended and Waqf boards were formed in all states and union territories. After this, the Waqf Act was amended in 2013 and unlimited powers were given to the Waqf Boards.
Disputes also arose in cases of Waqf boards declaring a land as their own. Last year itself, the Waqf Board had declared an entire village in Tamil Nadu as its property. This came to light when a person from the village went to sell his land. While registering the land, it was discovered that the Waqf Board had declared the entire village as its own. There are disputes between land owners and Waqf boards in many other places in the country. At the same time, Muslim organizations, religious leaders and leaders are alleging that the Modi government wants to usurp the land of Muslims by amending the Waqf Act. They also say that the amendment in the Waqf Act is unconstitutional. We will fight a legal battle against it.
