The Ministry of Minority Affairs on Thursday dismissed reports that over 88,000 Waqf properties have been 'rejected' on the UMEED portal. The ministry clarified that the term 'rejected' on the portal does not mean that a Waqf property has been permanently denied registration or has lost its Waqf status.
'It includes cases where applications have been returned for correction of deficiencies, as well as deletion of duplicate or erroneous entries. Wherever corrections are required, the concerned stakeholders have the opportunity to rectify the data and resubmit the application in accordance with the prescribed procedure,' the ministry said in a statement.
Background of the UMEED Portal
The statement comes in response to media reports that after a year of the government launching the UMEED portal to create a digital inventory of geo-tagged Waqf properties across the country, there is a question mark on the fate of 88,571 such properties whose details for registration have been rejected after scrutiny. These account for just 11% of the total 7,95,784 Waqf properties sought to be registered, the reports said.
Data available on the UMEED portal — the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development platform — show that a total of 5,87,804 properties or 74% of the total were approved for inclusion.
Ministry's Clarification and Progress
The ministry, however, said over 5.89 lakh Waqf properties have been uploaded on the portal till July 1 through a transparent verification process, involving the Mutawalli, the state/UT Waqf Board concerned and its CEO. 'Since the launch of the portal last year, 30 training sessions, workshops and meetings with State Waqf Boards have been conducted by the ministry. We remain committed to ensuring that the registration process is transparent, lawful and facilitative while maintaining the accuracy and integrity of Waqf records,' it added.
Extension and Tribunal Involvement
On December 5 last year, when the six-month deadline for inclusion in the portal ran out, Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that there would be no penalty for those who had failed to register properties on the portal, and that they could approach the Waqf tribunals in the states for an extension. Subsequently, state Waqf tribunals granted extensions to upload the details. The extended deadline has already passed in some states, while it will run out in the coming days in other states.
Three-Layer Verification Process
The process for getting a Waqf property registered on the portal has three layers – initiation by maker (Mutawalli or caretaker of a Waqf property), a check by the 'checker' (a designated district-level official or state Waqf board official), and approval by the 'approver' (senior Waqf board officials in the state). This multi-tiered system aims to ensure data accuracy and prevent fraudulent registrations.
