Waqf panel to meet for considering clauses of Bill on Jan 24-25

The Joint Parliamentary Panel on Waqf Amendment Bill will hold clause-by-clause discussion of the proposed law on January 24 and 25.

The panel led by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal is expected to submit its final report on the Bill on the last day of the forthcoming Parliament’s Budget Session, which will commence on January 31 and culminate on April 4.

The joint panel, which is currently touring Patna, Kolkata and Lucknow, has been holding deliberations with representatives of local Waqf boards and minority welfare departments of all the above-mentioned states. It will be meeting representatives of Uttar Pradesh Waqf Board and officials of the state's minority welfare ministry in Lucknow.

Speaking to mediapersons in Kolkata on Monday, Pal said, “We are going to present the report in the Budget Session.”

“The JPC has been meeting continuously for the last six months, holding meetings across the country. I am confident that we will all come to a consensus and present our report. Last time we had to present it in the Winter Session but it was extended, so we are going to present this report in the Budget Session,” he added.

The Bill was referred to a Joint Parliamentary Panel soon after it was introduced in Lok Sabha in August 2024, as several opposition parties had objected to its contents and alleged that the Centre through the Bill wanted to control lands currently under various Waqf boards.

The Centre in its part had said that its provisions were according to the recommendations of the Rajinder Sachar committee's recommendations of 2006.

The Bill was brought by the government to bring reforms like stricter audit and other legal mechanisms in functioning and governance of Waqf boards.