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West Bengal govt under fire over order to upload details of undisputed waqf properties to Centre's portal

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has directed district magistrates (DMs) across the state to upload details of Waqf properties to the Central Governments Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal. The state minority affairs and madrasa education department has sent the directive to the DMs at a time when some officials in the department felt that the exercise was a time-bound compliance requirement set by the Centre. The Centre has asked states to upload information on all undisputed Waqf properties by 6 December, prompting the state administration to begin the data-entry process immediately, according to officials. The directive sent to DMs lists four primary issues. They have been asked to convene meetings with imams, muezzins (those who give the call to prayer) and madrasa teachers to explain the uploading procedure, one of the officials said. The DMs have been told that only uncontested properties are to be entered in the portal, he added. All districts have been asked to set up facilitation centres wherever technical support is necessary, the official added. Earlier this year, the Central Government amended several provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995. While some of these amendments remain under consideration before the Supreme Court, a senior state government official pointed out that there is no stay on the implementation of the Centres proposed changes. The state is obliged to follow the directive within the given timeframe, he said. Under the amended rules, mutawallis (caretakers of a waqf) of 8,063 Waqf estates in Bengal must register complete property details on the UMEED portal by 6 December, he elaborated. The Bengal governments order to upload details of the states waqf properties onto the UMEED portal has triggered a political controversy, as the state had earlier said it would not implement the amended Waqf Act that came into force in April. Senior BJP leaders in the state held the chief minister responsible for the April communal violence in Samserganj, Murshidabad, which arose from a protest against the amendment. Will Mamata Banerjee apologise to Hindus in Mothabari (Malda) where 68 shops belonging to them were vandalised? Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari said on Friday. Haragobinda Das and Chandan Das (father and son slain in Samserganj) were killed because Mamata Banerjee instigated people against the Waqf Amendment Act. Can you compensate those families? he alleged. Bengal is home to around 82,000 waqf properties under nearly 8,000 waqf estates. Suvendu used the issue to appeal to Muslim voters. I want to tell the Muslim community that if you are really against the (amended) Waqf Act, boycott Mamata Banerjee. If you dont, it will be proved that your movement was never against the Waqf Amendment Act, it was against those poor Hindus. The BJP wants to sell off waqf properties to its crony private players like Adani and Ambani. Our stance against the (amended) Waqf Act has not changed, a senior ruling party leader said.