One of the most contentious issues being discussed right now is the allocation of Rs.10 crores to the WAQF Board in Maharashtra. Fearing a severe backlash with a prospect of losing the upcoming Vidhan Sabha elections, the notorious BJP IT Cell took it upon itself to validate the action of the current State Government. As per the tweets and whatsapp messages shared by them, the Maharashtra government has played a “masterstroke” by allotting these funds for digitizing all WAQF Property data.
They claim that it was “mandatory” to give these funds to the WAQF board because it was promised by the Congress Government in 2007 – that’s right, 2007. So to honour the promise, Devendra Fadnavis, the current DCM of Maharashtra “played a very smart move” – use the funds to digitize the property because “This will enable the NDA Govt to easily take over WAQF properties taken over by it without documentation and redistribute it if all information is Digital.”
Needless to say, this oft-repeated move of using confusing statements to fool Hindus does not have many takers this time because there is not a single Hindu Marathi Manoos who is willing to be fooled this time. This is because of the following reasons:
WHERE IS THE DIGITISATION OF MANDIR (TEMPLE) LANDS HAPPENING? : If this government were a truly Hindutva-vaadi or even Secular, the Digitisation of Temple lands should have been a reality. Time and again, many Hindu organisations have been raising the issue of encroachment of land/property belonging to Hindu Temples and have only received a deaf ear to their issues. Not a single Temple has been able to remove encroachments and infact, in many areas, Abrahamic places of worship have been constructed on Temple lands illegally.
Coincidentally the Maharashtra government in 2016 itself had through its revenue department directed that all immovable WAQF properties which have been illegally transferred, sold or leased, be taken back and re-registered as WAQF property. So this excuse of doing it all over again via digitization seems to be just a way to help them financially all over again.
(Note: can be read at https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/maharashtra-government-directs-to-take-back-encroached-WAQF-land/articleshow/52122385.cms?from=mdr)
IF WAQF ACT ITSELF IS ILLEGAL, WHY HELP THEM BECOME STRONGER? : On 8th December, 2023, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Shri Harnath Singh Yadav passed a motion for The WAQF Repeal Bill, 2022, where he claimed that “The WAQF Act, 1954 was predicated on the management of WAQF; i.e. holding certain property and preserving it for the confined benefit of certain philanthropy and prohibiting any use or disposition of it outside that specific objective and had sought itself to be a measure towards public welfare and as a benevolent institution… Subsequently … the WAQF Act, 1954 was later repealed and the new WAQF Act was passed in 1995 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) giving more powers to WAQF boards.
Amendments were later introduced in the year 2013, thereby arming the WAQF with limitless and absolute autonomy in the matters relating to it. Due to these powers, the WAQF Boards is now the third largest owner of land after the Indian Armed Forces and the Railways and their share of land has doubled since 2009. The enabling provisions enshrined in section 40 of the WAQF Act, 1995 gives powers to the Board to acquire, issue notices or hold an enquiry into the ownership of the property that it has reasons to believe belongs to the WAQF.
The board is allowed to conduct an independent enquiry into the matter and arrive at a conclusion regarding the ownership of the contended property. The decision of the board is final unless revoked by a specific order of the Tribunal and the only remedy available to the aggrieved is to approach the Tribunal with a suit which is barred by a limitation of only one month. There appears to be no cogent reason as to why the Act itself should make an exception from the established principles of the Limitation Act, 1963.
Appeals to the orders of the Tribunal are not maintainable in other Court of Law. Further, the burden of proof regarding the ownership of a land contended to be a property of WAQF falls on the person holding the possession of that land. Should the incumbent fail to prove his title to the satisfaction of the Board, such land or property shall have to be vacated. Such provisions invariably amount to depriving the citizens of their rights to seek constitutional remedies and are gross violation of natural justice. As such, it has been felt that there is a dearth of adequate safeguard to other communities and especially poor people for protection of their properties from its inclusion in WAQF
The WAQF Act is discriminatory both in intent and application while retaining a charitable optics and is in stark violation of article 13(2) of the Indian Constitution that prohibits the State from making laws that abridge the rights conferred to the citizens by Part III of the Indian Constitution.”
As is obvious, the WAQF Act is draconian and totally unjust. That is why many BJP leaders including Sudhanshu Trivedi and Basangouda Patil have opposed it in the past. The above bill by Shri Yadav was tabled as a Private Member’s Bill and was introduced after 53 members voted in favour and 32 opposed the move. But as usual, after it was tabled, it died a natural death because such Private Bills do not become laws. Hindus were fooled once again, after being given a false hope.
Note: (The whole bill can be read at: https://sansad.in/getFile/BillsTexts/RSBillTexts/Asintroduced/WAQF%20repeal%201%20-E1219202361452PM.pdf?source=legislation)
RENT INCREASE FOR WAQF PROPERTIES BUT NOT FOR TEMPLE PROPERTIES : In 2020 Nawab Malik, minister, Minorities Development and Auqaf made sure that the WAQF Properties Lease Rules 2014 (Amendment-2020) was amended to allow WAQF properties charge substantially more by way of rent. Less than a week later Indian Oil, a Government enterprise, started paying Rs. 2.55 lakhs per month as rent on a property that they were paying Rs.2,500/- earlier. This was just one of the many properties that the government enterprises were occupying. Unfortunately for Hindus, not a single MLA from any Political Party thought it fit to help Hindu Temple properties receive more rent from current tenants, via changes in the rules for properties charging age-old rentals.
SHAHARI WAQF SAMPATTI VIKAS YOJANA(SWSVY) : The Central WAQF Council has been implementing this Scheme since 1974-75 with the annual Grant in aid provided by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. Under the Scheme, the Central Government has released a total grant-in-aid amounting to Rs.6,500.88 Lakhs for major projects and Rs.868.56 lakhs for minor projects between September 1974 and March, 2023.
The implementation of the above Scheme was reviewed with the State Governments and State WAQF Boards on 7.1.2017. Thereafter, the Scheme was got evaluated through National Institute of Labour Economics Research & development (NILERD), New Delhi. Among other recommendations, NILERD was of the view that the above Scheme needs to be continued at least for ten years more so that adequate number of WAQF properties could be developed. Congress Government starts schemes and BJP Government strengthens the vigorously. Ever heard of such a scheme for Hindu Trusts by any government at the State level or at the Centre?
(Note: can be viewed at https://centralWAQFcouncil.gov.in/content/background-scheme)
WAQF BOARD IS VERY RICH : As per the Maharashtra State Board of WAQF and other sources, it owns property of atleast 92,000 acres and a corpus fund of atleast Rs.360 crores. The combined rentals as per the new reckoner could run in crores. Why then is the current Mahayuti Government obliged to offer them Rs.10 crores when there is NO income to the government from the Board?
In the case of Temples, the government earns in crores by way of donations, Darshan tickets, various taxes, melting of gold and other ornaments. Still, the BJP (or any other political party for that matter) does not think it necessary to give anything in return for the maintenance of our Temples or even for the pilgrims by way of Dharmshalas, cleanliness or even charity to only Hindus. Hindus should protest this step-motherly treatment.
As is very obvious from the above points, if any property is accepted as a WAQF property, it would then be impossible to sell it anymore even if such a property has been wrongfully claimed as WAQF property. Thousands of acres of land all over our country has been wrongfully claimed as WAQF property and the original owners of such land are incapable of fighting it off in the Tribunal or any other place of Law.
When the WAQF Property Act itself has been claimed as being illegal, why can it not be done away with and the government use such land judiciously? When this BJP government could do away with Article 370 in J & K, can they not protect their own land from being swallowed by trespassers who claim it as their own even after being given about 1/3rd of the land during Partition?
Is it not a travesty to keep paying more and more to them even if they do not contribute to the revenues of the Government? And is it not a crime to keep only Hindus away from the largesse that the State and Central Governments want to dole out only to Abrahamics for appeasement? Will digitizing it and putting the stamp of ownership not legalise the loot?
(The article was published on Ratihegde.wordpress.com on June 18, 2024 and has been reproduced here)
