New Delhi: The minority affairs ministry is set to meet its target to digitise over three lakh Waqf estates, a government official told ThePrint. The move will go a long way in bringing transparency and checking incidents of land grabbing.
In July, Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had announced that the Modi government had set a target of 100 per cent digitisation of Waqf properties across the country in the first 100 days of assuming office.
“Of the 3.30 lakh Waqf estates in the country, we have been able to digitise 3.15 lakh so far. We will soon achieve our target of 100% digitisation of Waqf properties,” said a senior ministry official on the condition of anonymity.
So far, the Haryana Waqf Board is the only one in the country to achieve this 100 per cent digitisation.
A single Waqf estate comprises of multiple Waqf properties and there are over 5 lakh such properties across the country, according to the official.
Digitisation to tackle corruption and land grabbing
The Waqf boards across the country have been embroiled in multiple controversies. There have been numerous instances where custodians of Waqf boards were involved in illegally selling off parts of the property in exchange for money.
The custodians or caretakers are not authorised to sell or lease out the property without official permission.
According to the official, digitisation is expected to help put an end to this corruption. “The caretakers won’t be able to divest properties easily anymore as there will be digital trail for everything. Chances of corrupt dealings will go down.”
This, he added, will ensure that the Waqf properties are used for the purpose they were meant for.
Naqvi had earlier said that geo-tagging and digitisation of Waqf properties will ensure they are utilised for the welfare of the society.
The encroachment of Waqf properties has been a serious concern in the past. In January 2018, the Delhi government evicted illegal occupants from 12 Waqf properties in the national capital.
“Digitisation of Waqf property records, along with the geo-tagging will in-effect end up taking care of the encroachment issue too,” the official said.