Property of Gujarat Wakf Board
Once again, the issue of rights given to the Waqf Board and the properties owned by it is in the headlines across the country. The Modi government has introduced a bill in the Lok Sabha to amend the Waqf Board Act, which is currently being studied by the Parliamentary Joint Committee (JPC). The Union Cabinet has given the green signal to many changes in the Waqf Board Act. It is being said that the way the government is amending the Waqf Board Act, the powers of the Waqf Board to declare any property as a ‘Waqf property’ will be reduced. The JPC members are also visiting many states to understand all the aspects. The JPC team is going to reach Gujarat on Friday. The Gujarat government is going to present all the facts before the JPC as to why the number of disputed cases related to Waqf properties in Gujarat is so high. Currently, more than 2000 cases are pending before the Waqf Tribunal in Gujarat.
How many properties does the Waqf Board have in Gujarat?
The number of properties of Waqf Board in Gujarat is more than 45 thousand, of which more than 39 thousand are immovable properties while the rest are movable properties. The surprising thing is that this property list includes not only graveyards, mosques, madrasas but also residential houses, agricultural land, shops, plots, ponds etc. If the price of this property is considered on the market value, then this figure can reach crores.
Donated property comes under Waqf Board
There is a tradition of giving charity in every religion. In Islam also, when a person gives his property for any religious purpose, that property comes under the Waqf Board. This property can be in any form, movable or immovable, which is supervised and managed by the Waqf Board. There is a Waqf Board in every state of the country. States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have separate Sunni and Shia Waqf Boards. The Waqf Board has been accused from time to time of claiming property of other religions apart from private property. However, the Waqf Board has always denied this.
According to an analysis, in Gujarat, the Waqf Board owns 39,940 immovable properties, the highest being 15,425 in Ahmedabad, followed by 8,453 in Surat and 4,163 in Bharuch. The Waqf Board also owns agricultural land, which is where Gujarat’s figures are very interesting. Bharuch district has the highest number of land owned by the Waqf Board. The number of properties is 918 (not in bigha or hectare), followed by 714 in Surat, 371 in Vadodara and 355 in Kutch.
Educational institutions owned by Waqf-
There are educational institutions owned by Waqf, out of which Ahmedabad and Bharuch have 7 schools each owned by Waqf Board. Apart from this, there are a total of 19 Darul Ulooms imparting religious education, out of which 6 are in Surat, 4 in Ahmedabad, 2 each in Vadodara and Amreli, while Bharuch, Kutch, Patan, Kheda and Banaskantha have 1 Darul Uloom each, while a total of 392 madrasas come under the Waqf Board. It has 64 madrasas each in Surat and Bharuch, while Waqf Board owns 49 madrasas in Ahmedabad and 30 madrasas in Kutch. There are 12,395 residential houses under the Waqf Board in the whole of Gujarat, out of which the maximum number of 6451 houses are in Ahmedabad. After that there are 3373 residential houses in Surat, 851 in Bharuch and 424 in Kutch.
There are 2235 plots officially owned by the Waqf Board in Gujarat. Surat has the highest number of plots, 700. After this, there are 694 plots in Bharuch and 293 plots in Vadodara. There are 168 Idgahs under the supervision of the Waqf Board in Gujarat, out of which the highest number of 101 Idgahs are located in Kutch. The Waqf Property Management System of India monitors its properties across the country. According to the information given on the website of WAMSI, Waqf properties are spread across the country, but in most of the states, Waqf properties have not been fully surveyed. Waqf properties have also been encroached on a large scale.
Property under Wakf Board in Gujarat-
Agricultural Land– 3264
Building- 653
Dargahs, Tombs- 1734
Darul Uloom- 19
Cemeteries – 983
Housing– 12, 395
Idgah – 168
Madrasa – 392
Mosque– 2999
Plot- 2235
Schools- 22
Shops– 6841
Others– 8235
Total- 39,940
What is Waqf Board?
The word Waqf comes from the Arabic language, which means to dedicate or to hold. In this case, Waqf means to devote land or property or to a trust for the welfare of the common man. The word Waqf is used for the property that is donated by the people who believe in Islam. The Waqf Board is the board that monitors the Waqf institutions. It is an autonomous board and runs on self-financing. In earlier times when people used to do Waqf (donate their property in the name of religion), people used to do Waqf in the name of Allah instead of children so that the income from it could be used to pay the salaries of the employees and Imams working in the mosques-madrasas managed by the board.
At present around 13 to 14 thousand trusts are registered with the Gujarat State Waqf Board. The properties registered with the Waqf Board are owned by the institutions and monitored by the Waqf Board so that if there is any conflict, dispute, illegal pressure or dispute between the trustees then the Waqf Board can resolve such matters. The Gujarat State Waqf Board has been functioning since the new act for the Waqf Board came into force in 1995. Muslim institutions and madrasas are registered with the Waqf Board.
How does the Waqf Board resolve disputes?
If we look at how the Waqf Board resolves disputes, then the Waqf Board hears dispute cases every week. Meanwhile, both the parties present their side, on the basis of which the Chairman, CO and members of the Waqf Board hear the case and put the case in the next board and a decision is taken accordingly. An administrator is appointed wherever necessary. 1 to 7 percent of the income of the institutions registered in the Waqf Board is given to a fund called Waqf Fund. The Waqf Board is managed from this self-generated fund. The Waqf Board has been given an office by the state of Gujarat. When someone presents evidence before the Waqf Board that the property was waqfed by our ancestors or great-grandfathers. If their evidence is correct then the Waqf Board registers it.
If we compare Gujarat with other states, Gujarat Waqf Board has 39,940 immovable properties. In this list, Gujarat is at the eighth position in the country, while in terms of movable properties in the country, Gujarat is at the second position after Tamil Nadu.
Read this also-
How does the Waqf Board illegally occupy someone’s land? Understand this from these 3 case studies
Fact Check: Government did not issue any number for suggestions on Wakf Amendment Bill, investigation revealed the claim to be fake
