Lucknow : In the midst of a controversy over the survey of unregistered private madarsas in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government is planning a study of waqf properties in the state. The UP government intends to reclaim government and public property that has passed to the waqf over the years.
The Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department issued an order, which was forwarded to commissioners and District Magistrates of all districts, requesting information on such properties in their respective regions. The officials have been given one month to compile this report.
The state government has overturned a prior order issued by the government in 1989, which prepared the way for the transfer of public properties to the Waqf Board that had been left barren or were being utilised by a shrine, Qabristan, or Eidgah.
There are now two Waqf boards in operation: the Sunni Waqf Board and the Shia Waqf Board. The country has around 6 lakh waqf properties, according to statistics from the National Waqf Management System of India. It is believed that there are over 1.5 lakh Sunni and over 12,000 Shia Waqf properties are in UP alone. Waqf properties are also prevalent in West Bengal and Kerala. A PIL was been filed in the Delhi High Court contesting the Waqf Act in secular nation.