New Delhi, May 24: A prominent Muslim organisation Tuesday raised apprehensions over some clauses of Wakf (Amendment) Bill 2010, saying they "blatantly" ignore the recommendations of Sachar Committee.

 The Bill, which was passed in Lok Sabha and now awaiting Rajya Sabha's nod, proposes a series of changes in the way Wakf properties are managed across the country.

 "The Ministry of Minority Affairs has overlooked and ignored vital recommendations of the Sachar Committee as well as the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the functioning of Wakf boards," Syed Zafar Mahmood, President of Zakat Foundation of India, said.

 He said compulsory Wakf surveys recommended by the JPC have been made optional in the bill, while suggestions of inclusion of all post-Independence cases of Wakf for survey have also been dropped.

 Treatment of Wakf survey commissioner's notification as deemed mutation for purposes of revenue records and determination of title of property, as recommended by the JPC, has also been not included in the bill, Mahmood claimed.

 The other criticism against bill is that the Ministry has diluted the definition of the word "encroacher."

 The organisation also asked the Archaeological Survey of India to properly conserve the Wakf properties under it and demanded that structures such as mosques should be allowed to be used for the "purposes they are meant for".

Lastupdate on : Tue, 24 May 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 24 May 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 25 May 2011 00:00:00 IST