‘Waqf amendments positive for the community’

Chairman of Maharashtra Waqf Board Sameer Kazi is very positive about the amendments of Waqf act. In an exclusive interview to ‘The Perfect Voice’ he says this shall bring in the much-awaited developments in management of the Waqf properties and help the Muslim community. Excerpts…

Q. What do you think of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed by the parliament?

The amendments in the Waqf act were necessary and hence, the bill that has now been passed by both the houses of the parliament had become a necessity. I can very well understand that some people might have opposed it while it was in the form of the bill. But, now when both the houses of the parliament have cleared the bill, every citizen of the country is duty bound to abide by it. As a law-abiding citizen we shall all stick to it and think about how we can strengthen the services offered by the Waqf board to common citizen. The bill has done away with certain parts of the Waqf act. But I don’t think that it adversely affects the working of the Waqf board. In fact it has decluttered the procedures and that shall benefit the common people more than anything else. Also, this shall lead to the development of the minority community, I feel.

Q. How do you think the act shall affect the functioning of the Waqf board?

The working of the Waqf board per say won’t change much. The amendments have cut down the scope and the jurisdiction in certain cases. So, barring that the routine work of the Waqf board shall continue like as it is. That won’t undergo any major change. Also, one needs to understand what are the curtailments imposed in the new amendments. They are primarily about declaration of certain properties as Waqf properties. Or declaring them as Waqf by users. These parts that were there earlier have been done away with in the new amendments. Also there are certain limitations imposed. Overriding effects have been done away with. Some of the rights that were with the board earlier have now been passed on to the collectors. That means instead of we making the decision in certain cases, we shall now have to prepare the file for the case and send it to the district collector and after they clear it, we shall register those properties as Waqf properties. So, this is just a step added into the decision process in order to streamline it with other land records related work of the state government.

The other part of the amendments is regarding the audit of the lands. In fact, I shall state here that audit is the better part of the amendments. They have brought in a new software that is same for the whole country. That shall prove to be beneficial to the Waqf board. That shall help the boards increase their revenue. With the amendments, the board shall now have more funds to be able to show how they actual spend their resources for the benefit of the community since, the land given to the Waqf board or the revenue out of is to be used for the community. For the betterment of the community.

Q. Revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announcement about a fortnight ago that all the illegally held land by the Waqf board will be reclaimed by the state government. What is your take on that?

It is not like that. It is basically about the different acts related to Inam lands like the Hyderabad Inam abolition act which is applicable for the Marathwada region or the Bombay Inam abolition which is applicable in the Konkan, North Maharashtra and Western Maharashtra regions. The Waqf lands in these regions are managed according to these acts. The state government had recently resolved to bring down tax on such lands in Marathwada region from 50 per cent to 5 per cent. So, the similar demands started coming up from other regions also. While reacting to queries about such land the revenue minister also said that if there are any such lands that would be found to be illegally held by the Waqf board, the government shall reclaim them. There is nothing wrong in saying that. I met him after that and we discussed ways to verify the land records and make appropriate decisions regarding the land parcels in dispute. One such example is from Latur, where some farmers were sent notices.

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya argues with a police officer posted outside a mosque in Bhandup area following a dispute between locals and the Muslim community over Friday prayers on the footpath in Mumbai on Friday. Pic: PTI

Q. Please explain to us the case of farmers in Latur who were served notices by the Waqf board. How that case will be affected by the new law?

A person had filed petition with the Waqf tribunal claiming that about 300 acres of land was Waqf property and notices were served to around 130 farmers in Talegaon and Budhole villages in this regard. This led to much of uproar. However, one needs to understand that it was a third-party claim and it was not at all related to the Waqf board. The Waqf board and Waqf tribunal are two different things. The tribunal is a after all court. When we learnt about the case, we verified our records and made it clear that there were no Waqf properties in the area. This helped resolve the issue. Bawankule might have referred to such claims by individuals or wrongdoings by them. His intentions are certainly good. He has even formed a committee to look into and decide upon such cases. When we met recently, I requested him to ensure that the Waqf board chairman be made ex-officio members of such committees to ensure speedy redressal of cases. He too readily agreed to the demand.

Q. Do you see more incidents like the case of Imambara in Pune where the court overturned the Waqf status?

I don’t think so. Because, most of such cases are decided by the Waqf tribunals. Earlier the decision by these tribunals didn’t have a provision to be challenged in the courts of law. The new amendments in the Waqf act have made such provisions. The Waqf boards had the section 40 to give their opinion in certain cases of this nature. However, that section has now been done away in the new amendments. So, I don’t think that the amendments will have much of baring on cases of this nature where the courts decided against Waqf status of some property.

Q. Waqf board was given Rs 10 crore by the state government a few months back but retracted the decision later. Do you more such things happening after this new act?

Not at all. In fact, in my opinion, the new amendments have ended the alienation of the Waqf boards. Earlier the boards were perceived as something belonging to one community. Now it will be looked at as an integral part of the government. So, I feel that more funds shall flow in that would help us in better management of the properties.