JPC on Waqf Bill holds meeting with stakeholders

Bhubaneswar: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 has started hearing different stakeholders here on Monday. During the first half period, the JPC held discussions with representatives from Odisha government, State Minority Commission, State Waqf Board, senior advocates, social activists and other different stakeholders from the State, said the panel’s chairman Jagdambika Pal.

“The stakeholders have given their views and opinions on the proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Our Joint Parliamentary Committee will examine the views and incorporate the contents in its report”, he told mediapersons.

Pal said it is the responsibility of the JPC to hear the stakeholders of Odisha and it is doing so. “Whether someone has joined or not, it doesn’t make any difference,” he said when asked about the absence of the Opposition members in the meeting. The committee will submit its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker by the last working day of the upcoming winter session of Parliament, he said.

The Opposition members of the JPC had decided to boycott this tour, alleging that the chairperson was acting in an arbitrary manner and their request to defer the trip was unheeded. Since the formation of the JPC in August this year, the panel has held discussions with different stakeholders for over 100 hours in 25 formal settings in New Delhi only, said Dilip Saikia, a member of the JPC.

“We have taken views and suggestions from different stakeholders including waqf boards, minority commissions and Muslim institutions/organisations,” he said.

The MP said the panel has completed its first phase of tour to different States including Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra and Gujarat. However, the Opposition members have boycotted the second phase tour starting from Guwahati on Saturday, which is “unfortunate”, Saikia said.

“The waqf boards need to be accountable for proper management of its properties, to empower the poor Muslims and to give its benefits to marginal sections of society,” he said. Saikia said the JPC will submit its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker whether the Opposition members take part in the meetings or not.

Similarly, another member of the panel, Aparajita Sarangi, said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has continued a 31-member JPC to examine the proposed 44 amendments to the Waqf Act, 1995 in the Bill.

“About 38 lakh acres of land is under the control of Waqf boards in India. We need to rectify the governance system and administration,” she said.

Prior to Bhubaneswar, the panel visited other major cities, including Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Guwahati, where discussions covered a range of issues surrounding Waqf property management and proposed amendments to the Wakf Act, 1995.

From Bhubaneswar, the committee will leave for Kolkata, and then is scheduled to visit Patna and Lucknow, official sources said.