Parliament panel rejects pandemic as reason for govt failing to meet target for geo-tagging of Waqf properties

NEW DELHI: A parliamentary panel has refused to accept that the lockdown due to the pandemic could have played a major role in preventing the ministry of minority affairs (MoMA) from meeting the March 2020 target of GIS mapping of 50% of all Waqf properties in the country. The standing committee on social justice and empowerment cites the reply filed by MoMA to point out that “the target date has been revised as March, 2022, which seems to be more realistic”.
There are over 6 lakh Waqf properties and GIS mapping is cited by MoMA as one of the main objectives of the computerisation of the records of the State Waqf Boards to prevent encroachment of Waqf properties. When MoMA filed its reply before the standing committee in June it stated that 96,000 properties had been geotagged. As of today around 1.21 lakh Waqf properties have been GIS mapped as per the Central Waqf Council and officials told TOI that work has picked up pace.
In its report tabled in Parliament on February 12, the 31-member standing committee chaired by Rama Devi has noted that MoMA stated in their reply furnished in June last year that due to the nationwide lockdown and other field problems, the target of GIS mapping of 50% waqf properties by March, 2020 could not be achieved .
“The reply does not hold much ground since the Committee were already aware of the impractical target as stated in their original recommendation and the lockdown, which was imposed only in March, 2020, can only be partially made responsible for the delay,” it is stated in the report.
The committee, in its earlier report had noted that out of 6,00,723 Waqf properties, only 31,407 properties had been mapped and 2,68,955 properties were to be mapped by the end of March, 2020, “which is an enormous task”.
The committee had expressed doubt if the target could be accomplished and asked MoMA to report the progress to them and fix realistic targets. MoMA filed its reply in June last year citing the revised deadline of 2022 and sharing that amidst lockdown the progress was being monitored through video conferencing and zoom conferencing.