Yogi Adityanath govt’s BIG MOVE - All registered WAQF properties to be probed in UP

UP Waqf properties to be probed: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the investigation of all properties that were registered after ‘flouting the 1995 Waqf Act or under a government order passed in April 1989 which allowed the registration of Usar, Banjar & Bhita lands as Waqf property.’

Lucknow: In a significant move, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh government has now decided to undertake a probe of all the properties registered under the Waqf Board. According to reports, the state government has asked district administrations to undertake a survey of such properties and submit the reports within a month.

The official spokesman of the UP government said that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has ordered the investigation of all properties that were registered after ‘flouting the 1995 Waqf Act or under a government order passed in April 1989 which allowed the registration of Usar, Banjar & Bhita lands as Waqf property.’

Shakeel Ahmed, deputy secretary in the Yogi Adityanath government has written a letter to the Minority Welfare Department, Director & Survey Commissioner of Minority Welfare, District Minority Welfare officers, CEO Shia & Sunni Waqf Board and Revenue officials in this regard.

It is believed that the government is keen on stopping the illegal possession and transfer of properties related to Waqf. Earlier this month, the Uttar Pradesh government started surveying the unaffiliated madrasas and issued instructions to the district magistrates regarding the surveys.

Commenting on the matter, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind said that it has no objections to the survey of unaffiliated madrasas by the Uttar Pradesh government.

However, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has reacted strongly to the UP government's latest move. The Hyderabad MP said that the Yogi regime is now targeting the Waqf Board after madrassas across the state. "If someone has illegally registered Govt property as Waqf property, fight it in Court, go to Tribunal. UP Govt is targeting Waqf property & trying to snatch it away. Such a targeted survey is absolutely wrong. We condemn it. It's systematic targetting of Muslims," Owaisi said.

(With Agency Inputs)