Waqf Council
The Central Waqf Council is a statutory organization which is administered by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs. It works to handle the working of state Waqf boards.
Key Points
- It was set up in the year 1964 in accordance with the Waqf Act, 1954.
- The Chairperson of the council is the Union Minister of Minority Affairs. The council consists of members appointed by the Government of India, which does not exceed 20 in number.
- It acts as a central advisory body in matters related to the working of the Waqf Boards. The council was vested with this advisory role under the provisions of Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013.
- In addition to rendering advice, the council also implements various schemes related to women’s education, women’s welfare, computerization of Waqf boards, etc.
- The board also seeks information from the State Government/Boards on the performance of the State Waqf Board.
Waqf Boards to be set up in J&K and Ladakh
Recently it was announced that two Waqf boards would be set up in Jammu & Kashmir and one board in Ladakh. This is the 1st time that both J&K and Ladakh will have Waqf boards. The board will map properties in 2 UTs and maintain their digital records.
In J&K, one Waqf board will be for the Sunni Muslims and the other for Shias. There will be 1 Waqf board in Ladakh.
Why government wants the Waqf board to map properties?
As per the Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Waqf boards hold the largest number of properties in India after the Defence sector. But many of these properties have been mishandled, encroached, or are disputed. Thus, the government wants the board to map the properties and maintain digital records. The country has 6, 64,000 registered Waqf properties.