Parliament Committee Explores Reforms in Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024

The Joint Committee of Parliament, led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, convened to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Representatives from various Waqf Boards and community groups presented their input, aiming for reforms which include digitisation, transparency, and enhanced legal measures to address mismanagement of waqf properties.

A pivotal meeting of the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was held on Monday, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal at the Parliament Annexe building. Representatives from the Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Uttarakhand Waqf Boards were called upon to provide their oral testimonies on the proposed amendments.

Also present were Call for Justice, a group led by Chander Wadhwa, the Delhi Waqf Tenant Welfare Association, and representatives from the B.K. Dutt Colony Residents Welfare Association in New Delhi. The committee is scheduled to reconvene on October 29, 2024, to hear further testimonies from the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

A previous meeting on October 22, 2024, saw tensions flare with BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee involved in an altercation, marking the session as incident-prone. Amid these heated discussions, the committee continues to steer the nation towards comprehensive reform of the Waqf Act, 1995, addressing long-standing issues of mismanagement and corruption by introducing digitisation and enhanced transparency measures.

(With inputs from agencies.)