A bill to streamline the functioning of Wakf Boards across the country will be tabled in the coming budget session of Parliament.
The Bill, which seeks to amend the Wakf Act, 1995, would give more teeth to Central Wakf Council. The council acts as an intermediary body between the Centre and 29 Wakf Boards in the states, which take care of public properties of minority
community including madrassas and mosques.
"Wakf Bill is ready. It will come before Parliament in this session," minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Dargah Committee for Ajmer Sharif Dargah.
Earlier, the Law Ministry had vetted the draft proposal for amendment in the existing Wakf Act a few months back thereby facilitating its tabling before the House. Khurshid had also then termed it a "priority issue".
The government's move to amend the Wakf Act followed a report of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which had suggested amendment in the existing Wakf Management Act and sweeping reforms in the general Wakf administration.
The decision was taken as the supervision, monitoring and control of Wakf properties across the country have been found wanting and many cases of misuse, irregularities in sale of Wakf properties and encroachment of land used by the Board and
its properties were reported in the past, sources in the ministry said.
