The Financial Rationale For Amending The Waqf Act

Think about waking as much as uncover that your loved ones’s ancestral land – the place your roots run deep – has abruptly been claimed by another person. This is not a plot twist from a novel however a real-life predicament confronted by villagers in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruchendurai. Rajagopal, a farmer merely trying to promote a small piece of land, was informed that his property now belonged to the Waqf Board. The sheer absurdity of the scenario is harking back to a Kafka novel, the place a sure equipment churns out choices indifferent from actuality.

C.S. Lewis as soon as wrote, “If you argue in opposition to Him you’re arguing in opposition to the very energy that makes you capable of argue in any respect”. The landowners discovered themselves in a equally paradoxical scenario, unable to contest the very system that reclassified their land in a single day. This farcical situation reveals the pressing have to amend the Waqf Act, which, because it stands, can remodel long-held non-public land into Waqf property with the stroke of a pen, leaving rightful homeowners within the lurch.

What Precisely Is A Waqf Property?

A Waqf, below the Waqf Act of 1954, is a property irrevocably devoted within the title of God for non secular and charitable functions, basically rendering it non-transferable and perpetually detained as a charitable act in direction of God. Ruled by the Waqf Act of 1995, Waqf properties-whether public or private-are managed by a ‘mutawali’ and overseen by state Waqf Boards, which wield vital energy, together with the flexibility to sanction transfers of immovable properties. Outlandishly, these properties, as soon as designated as Waqf, are locked into perpetuity, resistant to dissolution, and indifferent from broader authorized frameworks, such because the Indian Trusts Act. The Waqf Board, a authorized entity with sweeping authority, administers these properties, making certain they serve the pious functions they have been meant for, and the Central Waqf Council advises and displays these state-level boards.

One of many main points has been the broad powers granted to Waqf Boards, which have generally led to the controversial declaration of presidency and personal properties as Waqf. For instance, in Surat, all the municipal company headquarters was declared as Waqf property, elevating considerations concerning the overreach of the Waqf Board’s powers. Related disputes have arisen in different elements of India, the place properties with lengthy histories have abruptly been declared Waqf, usually resulting in authorized battles and public outcry.

Lack Of Knowledge And Documentation

The shortage of clear documentation and the potential for misuse of the Waqf Act have exacerbated these disputes. Courts have intervened in some instances, ruling that the Waqf Board should present legitimate documentary proof to assist its claims. Regardless of these rulings, the expansive powers of the Waqf Boards proceed to be a supply of controversy.

Waqf properties symbolize the third-largest landholding in India, solely behind the Defence Ministry and Indian Railways. The Ministry of Minority Affairs has a portal that has digitised the information for these huge property by the Waqf Belongings Administration System of India (WAMSI), a part of the Qaumi Waqf Board Taraqqiati Scheme (QWBTS). This scheme goals to safeguard and forestall encroachment of Waqf properties by digitisation and GIS mapping. Nevertheless, regardless of the entry of 8,72,324 immovable Waqf properties into WAMSI and the GIS mapping of three,29,995 properties, lots nonetheless must be accomplished.

Based on the Waqf Administration System of India (WAMSI), the standing of Waqf properties reveals vital administration and documentation challenges. The most important class of properties, representing 436,169 items, has no data out there, indicating a major hole in information assortment and transparency. Moreover, 58,898 properties are encroached upon, reflecting the extent of unauthorised occupation. There are additionally 7,831 properties below exterior litigation and 5,371 below inside litigation, highlighting the authorized challenges confronted in securing these property. A considerable portion of properties, totalling 3,39,505, are non-encumbered. 

How The System Has Led To Disputes

The method of declaring a property as Waqf, notably below the idea of “Waqf by use”, has led to quite a few authorized disputes. This ambiguity permits for conflicting claims between Waqf Boards and different stakeholders, together with authorities companies, resulting in extended litigation and delays within the utilisation of those properties for charitable functions.

Additional, the Waqf Act initially established tribunals to resolve disputes over Waqf properties. Nevertheless, these tribunals are criticised for being inefficient and missing judicial independence. Current amendments have tried to handle this by modifying their composition, however considerations stay about their capability to deal with complicated property disputes successfully.

What The Sachar Committee Mentioned

A number of committees have raised points with the Waqf Act. As an illustration, whereas introducing the Waqf Modification Invoice 2024 in Lok Sabha, the Minority Affairs Minister highlighted the 1976 Waqf inquiry report, which noticed that Waqf properties have been managed by Mutawallis and referred to as for corrective motion. The report additionally advisable establishing a tribunal to resolve disputes and emphasised the necessity to repair improper audits and accounts of Waqf boards.

The Sachar Committee flagged the difficulty of meagre income technology from Waqf properties. The report noticed that annual revenue from Waqf properties (in 2005) throughout India was roughly ₹163 crore, representing a meagre fee of return of simply 2.7%. The report means that if these properties have been developed and put to environment friendly industrial use, they might generate a minimum of a minimal return of 10%, translating to roughly ₹12,000 crores every year.

A Slew Of Regulatory Points

Traditionally, Waqf properties have confronted vital challenges, together with underutilisation, unlawful encroachments, and widespread mismanagement, which have hindered their capability to generate much-needed income for the group. A scarcity of strategic planning, evident within the absence of complete enterprise plans, market evaluation, and threat administration methods, has contributed to this difficulty. With inadequate monitoring and enforcement, regulatory oversight has been weak, permitting properties to be leased at below-market charges as a consequence of corruption. 

Monetary mismanagement has additional compounded these issues, with funds usually misappropriated or not reinvested successfully. Moreover, the shortage of group involvement and oversight has led to choices being made with out enough session, additional alienating the meant beneficiaries. To beat these challenges, it’s important to implement strict regulatory frameworks, implement strategic enterprise plans, and foster energetic group engagement, making certain that Waqf properties are managed successfully and generate sustainable income for the group.

Therefore, reforms are wanted. Regardless of makes an attempt to deliver order to the chaos, like digitising information, the system nonetheless looks like a Wild West of land claims.

(Bibek Debroy is Chairman, Financial Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and Aditya Sinha is OSD, Analysis, Financial Advisory Council to the Prime Minister)

Disclaimer: These are the non-public opinions of the writer