The national deadline for the mandatory digital registration of all waqf properties across India concluded on the night of December 6, marking a pivotal moment in the government's drive to create a unified digital inventory. The central portal, UMEED, registered a final count of 5,17,040 property uploads as the six-month window stipulated under the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, officially closed.
Deadline Stands Firm, But Penalties Waived Temporarily
While firmly ruling out any further extension of the registration deadline, Union Minister for Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, announced a significant facilitative measure on Friday. He stated that as a "humanitarian and facilitative" step, no penalties or strict action will be initiated for the next three months. This grace period is intended to allow those who failed to upload details due to genuine reasons to approach the waqf tribunal without immediate fear of punitive action.
However, the pathway for late submissions is now strictly through the legal channel. Individuals or entities who missed the deadline must now approach their respective waqf tribunal. The tribunal holds the discretionary power to grant an extension of up to six months, but only if it is convinced by the reasons presented for the delay in uploading the property details.
State-Wise Upload Data and Last-Minute Surge
The registration process witnessed a dramatic last-minute surge, particularly after the Supreme Court, on December 1, refused to extend the mandatory registration timeframe. The final data reveals a significant variance in state-level compliance:
- Uttar Pradesh led the nation with 86,345 property uploads.
- It was followed by Maharashtra (62,939) and Karnataka (58,328).
- West Bengal, which has strongly opposed the amended waqf law, uploaded details of 23,086 properties after reportedly issuing directions to state authorities in November to adhere to the deadline.
As of Saturday, the status of the uploaded properties was as follows: a little over 2.16 lakh properties have been approved by designated approvers, approximately 2.13 lakh submissions are still in the pipeline awaiting approval, and 10,869 were rejected during the verification process.
Zero Uploads from Several States and the Road Ahead
The data also highlighted areas with minimal or no participation. The northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Nagaland recorded zero uploads, as did the union territories of Ladakh and Goa. In contrast, other northeastern states like Assam (681 uploads), Manipur (393), and Meghalaya (13) did initiate the process.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs, sharing these details on social media platform X, credited the final surge to extensive review meetings, training workshops, and high-level interventions that injected renewed pace into the process as the deadline loomed.
The conclusion of this massive registration drive is hailed as a significant milestone for bringing transparency, efficiency, and unified digital management to India's vast waqf properties under the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) Act framework. The next phase involves the creation of a complete digital inventory where each registered waqf property will be assigned a unique ID number for streamlined oversight and management.
