New Waqf Bill Incorporates All 25 Changes Suggested by JPC

The National Democratic Alliance's Waqf Amendment Bill makes fundamental changes in the central law that governs the Islamic charitable endowments, creates a new framework that allows non-Muslims to be a part of waqf bodies, and authorizes government officials to conduct surveys of waqf properties.

- HT Correspondent

NEW DELHI:

The new draft of the waqf bill, made public on Tuesday and to be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, incorporates 25 recommendations made by the joint parliamentary committee (JPC). The Union government argues that the proposed law will address issues and challenges in regulating and managing waqf properties, but the Opposition alleges it will impinge on constitutional rights.

The new law says only "practicing Muslims" for at least five years can dedicate their own property to Waqf, restoring language that was present in the bill before the 2013 amendments, as per the joint parliamentary committee's recommendations.

The amended legislation is set to propose that "any person showing or demonstrating that he is practicing Islam for at least five years" can donate properties to waqf.

The original version of the bill planned to do away with the "waqf by user" provision, a category where a property is acknowledged as waqf because it has been used for religious activities for some time, despite there being no official declaration or registration as waqf. The original bill applied the removal of this provision retrospectively, raising concerns that tens of thousands of properties will come under a cloud.

Now, the new bill will apply this contentious provision only prospectively.