Post deadline extension, Waqf Board deals with new challenges

With the Waqf Tribunal extending the deadline for uploading details on the UMEED portal by three months, the Telangana State Waqf Board (TGWB) is once again racing to complete the exercise. While the Muslim endowments body has identified its immediate areas of focus, it now faces a tougher task: dealing with the many unregistered waqf institutions that lack basic documentation — such as the waqfnama and object of waqf — and may require physical verification.

Sources at the board, who did not wish to be identified, said it was difficult to estimate the exact number of such properties, but acknowledged that they were substantial. As a matter of procedure, whenever properties without a formal declaration of their waqf status are identified, they are registered as waqf by user, a provision that allows institutions to be treated as Muslim endowments based on their longstanding use for religious purposes.

“There are many properties that have not been registered with the waqf board. In such cases, when they come for registration on the UMEED portal, there will be a need for a waqfnama (waqf deed). If that is unavailable, then building permission, or an electricity bill. Meaning, any document that establishes the existence of the institution. The verification at the checker level, and the clearance at the approver level, will be based on the document,” the source said.

“There may be cases when a physical verification of these properties is required in case documents are deficient. An inspector-auditor will inspect the property and submit a report. This activity will require a lot of legwork.”

Meanwhile, officials said the UMEED portal was made accessible recently. Work has resumed, and will be further streamlined.

Speaking to The Hindu, TGWB chief executive officer Mohammed Asadullah said the immediate focus is to register, upload documents, check and approve institutions that are enumerated in the kitabul awqaaf (Book of Waqf), and then those that have been listed under the second waqf survey.

“There are approximately 3,000 properties that are a part of the kitabul awqaaf. These will be taken up first, as documents connected to them are available. Secondly, we will also take up the properties that were a part of the second survey, there are approximately 13,000 such properties. Work has already begun, and we will go full steam in the next few days,” Mr.Asadullah said.