"Great need for improvement in this": BJP's Shazia Ilmi on Centre planning to amend Waqf Board Act
Aug 04, 2024
New Delhi [India], August 4 : Calling for a great need for improvement in the Waqf Board Act, BJP leader Shazia Ilmi on Sunday alleged corruption in the board and said that the need of the hour is to bring amendments in the Act.
Notably, the central government is likely to bring a bill to curb the powers of the Waqf Board over assets.
Earlier reports suggested that the government was looking to amend the Waqf Act.
According to the reports, the Centre is likely to bring 40 amendments to the Act in the next Parliament sitting.
Shazia said, "There is a great need for improvement in this. In our country, after Defence and Railways, the Waqf Board holds the most land. An Act was made in 1954 and amended in 1995, granting it unlimited powers. There are 8,50,000 properties registered under the board's name. Islamic countries like Turkey, Syria, and Lebanon do not have the concept of Waqf."
"There is so much corruption in it. The common Muslims are not benefiting from it; rather, only those who have usurped the land are. 77 per cent of Delhi's land is under the Waqf Board. Some people are operating like a mafia in this. There is an urgent need to curb corruption. There are 32 state Waqf boards and one central body under the government, but the way their selection is done leaves a lot of scope for corruption," Shazia added.
Reacting to it, BJP leader Mohsin Raza said that if this bill is brought, he will welcome it.
"There are lakhs of Waqf properties across the country and people are not getting justice. They (Waqf Board) go beyond their powers and harass people. There are many such properties and many such issues which should come directly to the government. Waqf was created for the upliftment of backward Muslims and it has not been used properly, it has just been misused. So it is obvious that there is a need to take out the Waqf properties which have come under the control of a few people and the properties which have been registered in the boards illegally should also be taken out. This is a matter of public interest and it should be brought," Raza said.
