Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf bill to meet today
Dec 05, 2024
New Delhi [India], December 5 : The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 is set to hold a meeting on Thursday.
The opposition members in the Joint Parliament Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024 had requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for an extension to the panel's tenure.
Earlier on November 27, after the opposition MPS walked out of the JPC meeting, Chairman of Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and Bharatiya Janata Party MP Jagdambika Pal stated that the members who wish to be heard should not have boycotted the meeting.
Speaking to ANI, Pal highlighted that he had addressed all members' opinions and concerns."In the last three months, we held 29 meetings, and more than 147 delegations participated. We have given opportunities to all organisations as per the JPC's mandate. If the Opposition MPs feel more people need to be heard, boycotting the meeting is not the right approach. I have listened to all members, including Sanjay Singh, Kalyan Banerjee, and Asaduddin Owaisi," he said.
Since August 22, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, 2024, has held several meetings, reviewing the work of six ministries and around 195 organisations. Of these, 146 organisations were heard across the country, and the secretariat received nearly 95 lakh suggestions related to the Waqf Bill.
It is worth noting that the Waqf Act of 1995, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible.
