Deadlines, disputes, doubts dog UMEED for waqf properties

If they miss the deadline, thousands of properties, immoderate of them centuries old, whitethorn gaffe into a integer void.

That fearfulness hangs dense extracurricular a cardinal masjid successful Hyderabad, wherever tiny groups of men hold successful silence, files pressed adjacent to their chests. Some clasp rolled gazette notifications and rubric deeds portion others transportation energy bills, taxation receipts oregon fragile photocopies salvaged from ageing registers. Every scrap of insubstantial matters. A fewer 100 metres from the masjid, crossed a engaged road, different queue mirrors the first. On a designated level wrong a authorities office, young men with sunken eyes and parched lips — evident effects of fasting — benignant relentlessly into laptops. Every papers that tin found a spot arsenic waqf indispensable beryllium uploaded to the UMEED Waqf portal earlier clip runs out.

The urgency is unmistakable, the anxiousness visible. The archetypal deadline has already slipped by. The adjacent one, March 12, is hardly a fortnight away, and the standard of the task is overwhelming.

Launched amid promises of reform, the UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) portal was pitched past June by Union Minister for Minority Affairs Kiren Rijiju arsenic a strategy that would “not lone bring transparency but besides assistance the communal Muslims, peculiarly women and children”. Conceived arsenic a centralised integer platform, it seeks real-time uploading, verification and monitoring of waqf properties, offering geo-tagged inventories, GIS integration, transparent leasing records, an online grievance redressal strategy and nationalist entree to verified data.

In Telangana, however, the crushed world began unravelling wrong days of the exercise. Thousands of waqf properties had to beryllium identified, their paperwork traced, collated and digitised, often from fragmented, incomplete oregon disputed records, wrong a rigid timeframe. Distrust implicit intent, unfamiliarity with integer procedures, disorder implicit method questions and ineligible uncertainty combined to dilatory the process, adjacent arsenic the timepiece kept ticking.

Matters were further analyzable erstwhile the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) approached the Supreme Court of India. With the result described wrong the assemblage arsenic disappointing, hesitation acceptable successful among mutawallis (manager, caretaker oregon superintendent of a waqf, an Islamic charitable endowment) and managing committees.

Besides, determination was dissatisfaction implicit the attack of the AIMPLB. While the Board had initially discouraged uploading documents to the portal, citing apprehensions that the Union authorities could construe it arsenic acceptance of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, the presumption aboriginal shifted amid fears of irreversible loss.

The AIMPLB is of the sentiment that the authorities is discriminatory and contradicts Articles 14 (equality earlier instrumentality and adjacent extortion of the laws), 25 (freedom of conscience and escaped profession, signifier and propagation of religion) and 26 (freedom to negociate spiritual affairs) of the Constitution.

Explaining the dilemma, AIMPLB spokesperson and subordinate S.Q.R. Ilyas told The Hindu says, “We had hoped for a halt connected uploading till the contented was afloat dealt with. But successful bid not to suffer out, the Board past said radical tin spell up with uploading. The lawsuit has to spell to a larger seat of the Supreme Court, and the Board volition combat it out, including connected aspects of instrumentality of limitation.” The standard of what is astatine involvement is staggering. According to Telangana State Waqf Board CEO Mohammed Asadullah, the State has 33,929 gazette-notified waqf properties portion different 13,400 were identified during the 2nd waqf survey. This is successful summation to astir 2,800 waqf institutions listed successful the Kitab-ul-Awqaaf, the registry of endowments maintained by authorities that existed earlier 1954.

Spread crossed cities, towns and distant villages, these assets signifier the backbone of religious, charitable and assemblage life. And adjacent these numbers, officials admit, whitethorn not seizure the afloat grade of waqf-by-user properties that beryllium without ceremonial records.

The problems were not simply ineligible oregon procedural; they were besides technical. “After we moved the Waqf Tribunal, determination continued to beryllium immoderate method difficulties. The bulk support enactment was disabled. So we had to prime each and each introduction to either o.k. oregon reject. This proved clip consuming. The fig of enclosures oregon database of documents accrued too,” says Asadullah, outlining the challenges the Telangana Waqf Board has been grappling with.

On February 23, Syed Bandagi Badeshah Quadri, a subordinate of the Telangana Waqf Board from the mutawalli community, flagged different concern, which helium says had been conveyed to president Syed Azmatullah Huseni. “Applications often amusement the presumption arsenic ‘submitted’ but applicants are not informed if they are aboriginal rejected oregon necessitate corrections,” helium says.

Fault lines connected the portal

Many, helium points out, presume their applications are nether process erstwhile they whitethorn not be. Since registration yet depends connected support connected the portal, specified gaps could permission properties unregistered. “There is an urgent request to alert applicants done SMS, email oregon portal notifications and inquire them to recheck their exertion status,” helium suggests.

Even arsenic these method issues and procedural ambiguities persist, the fig of waqf-by-user applications has increased. This, successful turn, exposed different responsibility enactment — much than 1 idiosyncratic oregon committee has, successful respective cases, staked assertion to a azygous institution. “In this case, we decided to spell according to what the records state. If the records authorities that a idiosyncratic is simply a mutawalli, we are not entertaining applications successful which different idiosyncratic claims to beryllium the mutawalli of the aforesaid waqf institution,” Asadullah explains.

When concerns astir registering connected the portal were astatine their highest past year, the quality outgo of the workout played retired precocious 1 nighttime astatine the Shahi Masjid analyzable successful Public Gardens. There, a country had been converted into a centre for uploading waqf spot details onto UMEED portal.

A antheral stepped retired quietly. The collar of his garment was frayed, his trousers hung escaped and worn rubber slippers slapped against cracked ankles arsenic helium walked. Hours of waiting had dulled his eyes with fatigue. He approached those assisting applicants done the night. Asked if his enactment was complete, helium nodded. He had travelled from a spot adjacent Narayanpet, astir 170 km from Hyderabad, to registry a tiny mosque helium established years ago.

“Earlier, determination was nary masjid for 7-8 kilometres. At our masjid, astir 25 radical travel to pray. We request an imam (one who leads regular congregational prayers). There is simply a country for him to stay,” helium had said.

Moments later, helium climbed into a waiting autorickshaw, started the motor and drove away. His was different instauration logged into a vast, still-unfinished integer exercise. Volunteers accidental determination were galore specified instances: radical from humble backgrounds, travelling agelong distances, determined to guarantee that the waqf institutions they correspond beryllium connected record.

While anxiousness runs precocious among galore stakeholders, immoderate others, peculiarly those associated with smaller and comparatively newer waqf properties, accidental they person chosen not to upload documents. “It is not wide however the accusation volition beryllium utilized oregon whether the Central authorities volition interfere. This is wherefore we did not spell up with uploading documents,” says a person, associated with a tiny masjid successful Banjara Hills, constructed astir 5 years ago, requesting anonymity.

Official information obtained connected February 24 shows both, advancement and backlog. As galore arsenic 17,289 properties submitted by makers were pending with checkers, portion 6,638 submissions cleared by checkers awaited approval. Another 23,945 properties had already been approved. In all, records amusement that 62,837 waqf spot registrations had either been initiated oregon completed. Officials, however, constituent retired that these figures disguise the standard of pending work, with verification stages, documentation corrections and support bottlenecks continuing to dilatory the process.

Even arsenic the Waqf Board grapples with numbers and method hurdles, a caller complication emerged past week, adding yet different furniture to an already demanding exercise.

A caller complication

The Department of Heritage Telangana (DHT), formerly the Department of Archaeology and Museums, has claimed that the Waqf Board had entered definite medieval monuments — Muslim successful quality — into UMEED portal.

DHT manager Arjun Rao Kuthadi told The Hindu that the section has sought the removal of these places of worship from the portal, invoking Section 3D of the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025.

The conception renders void immoderate declaration of a protected monument arsenic waqf. Accordingly, immoderate notification identifying a spot arsenic waqf would not beryllium valid if the tract is protected nether the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act of 1904 oregon the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958.

The Waqf Board, however, has pushed backmost powerfully against the claims. Senior officials accidental portion a ceremonial effect is being prepared and applicable documentation sought from the department, the contented cannot beryllium reduced to a constrictive ineligible reading. Questions astir continuation of rituals, customs and acts of worship astatine specified sites, they argue, indispensable beryllium examined and addressed.

Officials support that the mentation of Section 3D itself warrants cautious scrutiny. Whether the proviso applies to the operation unsocial oregon to the onshore connected which it stands, and to what extent, are matters that request deliberation, they say. A broad transportation of institutions, on with associated onshore parcels, cannot beryllium undertaken without elaborate deliberation. While DHT officials person indicated that ineligible remedies whitethorn beryllium explored, if required, the Waqf Board continues to asseverate that these are progressive spiritual places of worship and that it remains a stakeholder.

The contention has besides drawn successful governmental voices. Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, who is besides president of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, had raised superior concerns during the instauration and transition of the amendment implicit however Section 3D could beryllium implemented. He had warned that worship astatine specified sites could, successful definite contexts, beryllium restricted oregon stopped altogether.

Mr. Owaisi had said the proviso was not portion of the archetypal Bill but was introduced “surreptitiously” connected the time of debate. The Section, helium said, would “snatch masjids, imam baras and dargahs from the Waqf Board”, starring Muslims to suffer their places of worship. He besides cited the recommendations of the Sachar Committee, which had suggested that Muslim places of worship successful Delhi nether the custody of Archaeological Survey of India beryllium handed implicit to Delhi Waqf Board.

Now, arsenic ineligible interpretations are contested and organization positions harden, the timepiece continues to tick. With the March 12 deadline for uploading documents to UMEED portal looming, Waqf Board officials accidental they stay hopeful of completing the process, adjacent arsenic the integer workout unfolds amid unresolved disputes and rising uncertainty.