UMEED Act aims for social welfare: Ministry

New Delhi: The enactment of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 2025 (UMEED Act) last week marks a turning point in reforms carried out in Waqf laws between 1913 and 2025 for social benefit from Waqf properties, said an official on Monday.

“The changes in Waqf laws in India from 1913 to 2025 show a strong effort to protect and manage Waqf properties for society’s benefit while ensuring a proper administration system. “Each law aimed to solve current problems while keeping the main purpose of #Waqf endowments,” said the Ministry of Minority Affairs in a post on social media platform X.

Continuing its efforts to dispel misinformation and educate the masses over the benefits of the UMEED Act, the Ministry joined hands with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and said, “The #Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 is an important step towards making Waqf management more transparent, responsible, and inclusive.”

One of the key provisions of the UMEED Act is the restoration of properties to government agencies.

“Any government property identified as Waqf will cease to be Waqf. Ownership disputes will be resolved by the District Collector, who will submit a report to the state government,” said a provision in the Act.

On a day when the recent amendments introduced to the Waqf Act were mentioned in the Supreme Court before Chief Justice of India (CJI), Sanjiv Khanna, for urgent listing, the Ministry of Minority Affairs released a compendium on the legislative history related to the Waqf law over the past century. Starting with the introduction of the Mussalman Wakf Validating Act, 1913 that allowed Muslims to create Waqfs for family benefits and charitable purposes, the Ministry documented features of the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923 and the Mussalman Wakf Validating Act, 1930, to highlight the initial efforts for accountability and transparency in Waqf management.