Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Senior advocate Nekibur Zaman, the former Chairman of the Assam Board of Waqfs alleged that there is rampant corruption in the Waqf Board and encroachment on waqf lands in the state. But, once the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, becomes an Act, Zaman said he hoped that action against such corruption and encroachments will be taken by the government. He demanded a high-level investigation into the corruption and encroachments of waqf properties in Assam.
Speaking to The Sentinel, Zaman said, "A Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) was formed on the Waqf Bill and a team visited Assam also and sought opinions and suggestions from the public. It is not known whether the public opinion generated here has been reflected in the JPC report before the Parliament. I am hoping that the amended Bill will help remove corruption and generate revenue from waqf properties in Assam."
"There is no definitive data on waqf properties in Assam. Some say there is 17,000 to 20,000 bighas of land under waqf. The first survey of waqf properties in the state was conducted during the tenure of late Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed as chairman of state waqf board in 1957. Again, in 1996, during the term of the AGP government, another survey was carried out but the report was not tabled. No further survey has been done till date. Significantly, former Assam Assembly Speaker Pranab Gogoi formed a House Committee to investigate the functioning of the Waqf Board during the Congress regime. The members visited various parts of the state to review the documents and submitted a report to the Assembly. But the recommendations in the report were not implemented," he added.
Zaman said that he was the chairman of Assam Board of Waqfs for two years, until 2017. It was during this time that he came to know about the corruption prevailing in the board, as well as the encroachments on waqf land.
He further said, "People from the ruling party at that time was involved in the corruption and encroachment. They are also involved in illegal appointments in the board. These people siphoned off huge amounts of money. Some became rich overnight. I can provide documents related to such misappropriation of money and illegal appointments. I had informed the IB and police authorities about this. I tried to pinpoint the cases but no action was taken. "
Zaman also alleged that such people were also involved with anti-Assam and anti-India forces.
He opined that the Assam Board of Waqfs was in dire straits at the time the Narendra Modi-led government proposed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill. He expressed the hope that the new bill will pave the way for irregularities in the waqf board to be removed.
Zaman said that one of the key objectives of this amendment is to prevent encroachment of Waqf properties. That, the amendment aims to empower the authority to reclaim such property for use for its original purpose. However, he expressed his ire at the inclusion of non-Muslim members in waqf boards.
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