Joint Parliamentary Committee to Discuss Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024

The Joint Committee of Parliament will convene on Monday at the Parliament Annexe to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. The committee will hear opinions and suggestions from Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, Delhi, regarding the proposed amendments.

Experts, including Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, Adv. Ashwini Upadhyay from Delhi, and Adv. Virendra Ichalkaranjikar from Mumbai, have also been invited to share their insights during this meeting. The committee will reconvene on Tuesday to hear oral evidence from representatives of the Ministry of Minority Affairs concerning the Bill.

On September 28, the Joint Parliamentary Committee held a meeting in Hyderabad as part of its nationwide consultation on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, engaging with various stakeholders.

During the Hyderabad meeting, prominent figures such as JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and Congress MP Imran Masood were present. Sarangi stated that the committee received valuable suggestions that could significantly shape the Bill.

"The Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf matters met today in Hyderabad. We had a very long session today, and the Chairman and all the members of JPC met around 42 organizations. We received very good suggestions. All these suggestions and grievances will help us shape the bill that has been given to us," Sarangi said.

She added, "I think there would be a lot of work done before the bill is presented to the Speaker for further discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. We are trying to make it as wide-based as possible. I am sure we can shape the bill in the right way with all the inputs we are receiving."

Additionally, another meeting of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024 took place today with the Gujarat government in Ahmedabad. Jagdambika Pal mentioned that this meeting included the Gujarat Home Minister, Waqf board officers, minority commission officials, and Islamic scholars.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8 and subsequently referred to the JPC after a vigorous debate. The committee is conducting a series of informal discussions with various stakeholders until October 1, aiming to refine the proposed amendments to the Waqf Act, which oversees the management of over 600,000 registered waqf properties across India.

Originally established in 1995, the Waqf Act aims to regulate waqf properties but has faced longstanding allegations of mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to implement significant reforms, including digitization, stricter audits, transparency measures, and legal frameworks to reclaim illegally occupied properties. The committee is required to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the end of the first week of the next parliamentary session.

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