Waqf Properties (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Bill, 2014 was referred to the Standing Committee on Social Justice & Empowerment for examination. The Report of the Committee was laid in the Parliament and its recommendations are under consideration at present.

As per Section 32 of the Waqf Act, 1995 as amended, the general superintendence of auqaf in a State is vested with the State Waqf Board (SWB) and it is the duty of the concerned SWB to ensure that Waqf properties are properly maintained, controlled and administered.  Further, as per section 51(1 A) of the Waqf Act, any sale, gift, exchange, Mortgage or transfer  of the waqf property has been declared void ab initio w.e.f 1st November, 2013. As per the provision of Section 54, the Chief Executive Officer of the Waqf Board is empowered to remove the encroachment from the Waqf property. Such removal is normally carried out with the help of State Government machinery. As per the available information with Central Waqf Council (CWC) received from various State Waqf Boards, State wise position of number of Waqf Properties are facing encroachment is given at Annexure.

        Major provisions added in the amended Waqf Act 1995  giving more power to State/UT Waqf Boards to deal with encroachment on waqf properties inter alia include: stringent definition  of “encroacher”; mandate to State Governments to appoint Survey Commissioners and complete the survey of waqf properties in a time bound manner; rigorous imprisonment for  alienation of waqf properties without prior approval of the State/UT Waqf Boards; alienation of waqf property to be cognizable and non-bailable offence and three member Tribunals with extended jurisdiction to deal with  disputes concerning eviction of a tenant. Central Government monitors and reviews compliance of various provisions of Waqf Act by State Governments/ State Waqf Boards from time to time.

 

Annexure

 

State wise position of number of Waqf Properties with Encroachment

S.No.	Name of Waqf Board	Number of Waqf Properties encroached by Private/Public
1.	Punjab Waqf Board	5,610
2.	Madhya Pradesh Waqf Board	3,240
3.	Board of Waqfs, West Bengal	3,082
4.	Tamil Nadu State Waqf Board	1,335
5.	Karnataka State Waqf Board	862
6.	Haryana Waqf Board	754
7.	Himachal Pradesh Waqf Board	503
8.	Delhi Waqf Board	373
9.	Chhatisgarh State Waqf Board	200
10.	Assam Board of Waqfs	191
11.	Bihar State Sunni Waqf Board	181
12.	Rajasthan Board of Muslim Waqf	164
13.	Manipur  State Waqf Board	137
14.	Maharashtra State Waqf Board	81
15.	Bihar State Shia Waqf Board	58
16.	Kerala State Waqf Board	29
17.	Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board	12
18.	Tripura Board of Waqf	10
19.	Odisha Board of Waqfs	7
20.	Chandigarh Waqf Board	6
21.	Puducherry Waqf Board	5
22.	Jharkhand Waqf Board	2
23.	Andaman and Nicobar Waqf Boards	2
24.	Uttarakhand Waqf Board	119

 

This information was given by Union Minister for Minority Affairs Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha yesterday.

 

***

RCJ/FH/IA

(Release ID: 1556748) Visitor Counter : 2093