UP's claim on Waqf properties puts contentious clause under spotlight

Only around 4,000 of the 132,000 properties claimed as Waqf assets in Uttar Pradesh qualify under guidelines fixed by the state government, principal secretary, revenue, P Guruprasad has said, with the rest being public properties that belong to or are controlled by the government.

- Rajesh Kumar Singh

LUCKNOW:

The senior bureaucrat's claim, which means that 97% of the properties currently believed to be Waqf in Uttar Pradesh are actually property of the state or commons land, is a test case for one of the biggest concerns around the Waqf (Amendment) Bill - the treatment of what is called "Waqf by user". It also highlights the poor titling and documentation of land and properties in general, and Waqf land and properties specifically.

"During the examination of the land records, it was found that majority of the properties claimed as Waqf actually belonged to gram samaj (village communities). The exercise to reclaim the government land is nearing completion," Guruprasad said.

The number was arrived at after an eight-month exercise that saw revenue department staff across UP examine land records since 1952, when the Zamindari system was abolished under the UP Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Rules.

A Waqf is a Muslim religious endowment, usually in the form of landed property, made for purposes of charity and community welfare. At the heart of the dispute in UP is the contentious clause of "Waqf by user", which uses principles in Islamic law to declare a property or asset as a Waqf (or charitable endowment) based on its use even without a formal declaration. For example, if someone continuously uses a property as a mosque or for a charity, then the law may recognise it as a Waqf.

This clause was part of the 1955 act but features nowhere in the controversial amended bill that was introduced in Parliament last year. This new draft proposes sweeping changes in the regulation and governance of India's Waqf boards, which manage Islamic charitable endowments. It reworks the definition of Waqf to ensure that only lawful property owners practising Islam for at least five years can create Waqf through formal deeds.