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Rope in revenue officials to expedite waqf records upload process, Sunni board urges UP govt
Technical issues on the portal... the session expires in half an hour and the page gets reloaded...all the work done is not getting saved, says Faruqi
LUCKNOW As the deadline to upload documents inches closer, records of not even a few hundred waqf properties from Uttar Pradesh have been put on the UMEED portal due to technical constraints. With the mammoth exercise of uploading documents of 1.26 lakh waqf properties in the state in limbo, the UP Sunni Waqf Board has urged the state government to deploy revenue department officials to expedite the process.
“Every time I try to fill out the form and upload documents, the page expires in 30 minutes, which is not enough as so many details have been asked on the portal,” says Nisar Ahmad (name changed) from Saharanpur who is having a tough time completing the process of uploading documents.
In June this year, the Union government had launched the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal (https://umeed.minorityaffairs.gov.in/), a centralised platform aimed at creating a digital inventory of all waqf properties.
UP Sunni Waqf Board chairman Zufar Ahmad Faruqi said work of uploading documents of 1.26 lakh waqf properties in UP is hampered due to technical challenges for which the board has already apprised the government. To expedite the process, the board has urged the government to rope in officials from the revenue department, he added.
“There are some technical issues on the portal, out of which many are resolved while some are yet to be fixed. The session expires in half an hour and the page gets reloaded...all the work done is not getting saved. We have asked the government to make appropriate changes and make the session time for at least two hours, or else at least there should be an option to save the work,” said Faruqi.
“At the moment, we have around 1.26 lakh waqf properties, of which around 50% do not have Mutawallis (carerakers) or committees and majority of these are in rural areas. The information is yet to reach people in rural pockets, where there is no one to upload the documents. Around 90% Mutawallis of these properties who were present during the previous survey are no more, so there is no one left to represent these properties,” said the chairman.
Top 5 UP dists with max waqf properties
As per data of the UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, 1,20,605 properties are registered with the board. These include qabristan (graveyards), mosques, dargah, mazar, imambara, karbala, etc. Out of these, the maximum 6,010 properties are located in Gonda (including 4,265 graveyards), 4,785 in Barabanki, 4,208 in Saharanpur, 4,185 in Azamgarh and 3,654 in Farrukhabad.
Barabanki has 4,785 registered waqf properties, of which 2,139 are graveyards, 391 mazars and 421 imambara/karbala. Saharanpur has 4185 waqf properties, of which 1587 are graveyards and 132 mazars.
“We have requested the UP government to deploy Revenue Board employees like lekhpals as they are well aware of their designated areas. They can also ask people in rural pockets to get their properties registered on the Ummed portal. If there is no one to upload documents, then lekhpals should be given the responsibility to upload the documents of such properties,” he said.
“The previous survey lacked vital information, so verified information will be available through the revenue department only. We are also not aware of any encroachment on such properties, but when a lekhpal visits the property, he will be able to ascertain facts and report accordingly,” said Faruqi, adding, “I have also requested the government to make district minority officers (DMOs) nodal officers who can review the information tehsil wise.”
Will Board ask for deadline extension?
“The government of India has said that it will not extend the deadline of six months as of now. But ultimately, if we are unable to complete the work on time, we will raise a formal request to extend the time. We had even said during the JPC that the time limit should be at least two years, as it is a tedious exercise,” said Faruqi.
Drive to educate people soon: Clerics
AIMPLB executive committee member and Islamic Centre of India chairman Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said: “Many people are still not aware about the process of uploading documents. We will soon start a drive to educate caretakers of waqf properties on how to successfully upload documents.”
From November 1 to 8, a campaign will be launched by the AIMPLB for correction and verification of documents of all waqf properties. State convenors will prepare a team of young volunteers, including lawyers, in every city. At designated public venues, waqf desks will be set up, where mutawallis (caretakers) will be requested to bring property documents for scrutiny.
Those lacking proper documents will be guided by the experts. Teams of volunteers for the purpose will be formed in every state and district. For their training, a central workshop in Delhi will be held on September 29, followed by training workshops for district and regional volunteers at the state level.
