UMEED portal deadline ends: Rijiju says mutawallis can approach Tribunals, no penalty for 3 months

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Rijiju said: “After the Waqf (Amendment) Act was passed, we launched the UMEED portal. As per the Act, all Waqf properties in India were to be registered on the UMEED portal within six months. This was compulsory. Today is the last date, and lakhs of Waqf properties have not been registered.”

He mentioned that several MPs and leaders from different states had told him that there were issues in the registration of 9 lakh Waqf properties and had requested for the last date to be extended.

“I would like to first of all say that 1.51 lakh Waqf properties have been registered so far on the UMEED portal. Some states have performed well, like Karnataka and Punjab… Some big states have lagged. I have been told that the portal was running slow in some places, and some people did not have documents,” Rijiju said.

In view of the requests, he assured that some solution would be worked out for those who have not been able to register properties on the portal. “For three months, we will not take any harsh steps, and there will be no penalty. In three months, Waqf properties should be registered on the portal. Those who have not been able to register properties should go to the (Waqf) Tribunals. The Supreme Court has given directions and said that there will be no extension, and the tribunals have the power… If there are reasons for your property not being registered so far, then Tribunals can extend it for six months… The government wants to help everyone. There can be no change in the Act passed by Parliament,” said Rijiju.

Asked about those mutawallis who don’t have papers for Waqf properties, Rijiju said: “If there is a Waqf property which doesn’t have papers, it will be looked into by the Tribunals. I cannot check those. If there is property that is Waqf, it will have documents. The Waqf Act has been brought to manage properties efficiently, and (to ensure) there is no misuse, and it is used for the poor and the backward.”

Most Waqf assets in UP

The UMEED portal was launched by the Centre under provisions of the contested Waqf (Amendment) Act with the objective of bringing all Waqf properties under a centralised digital database, with geo‑tagging and documentation. The government said it will ensure that the properties are managed and protected better and in a transparent manner.

There are an estimated 8.8 lakh Waqf assets spread across the country. At 1.4 lakh, Uttar Pradesh has the most Waqf assets across its Sunni and Shia boards. West Bengal with 80,480 Waqf properties ranks second, followed by Punjab (75,511), Tamil Nadu (66,092) and Karnataka (65,242). Bihar is the only state besides UP that has separate Sunni and Shia boards; all other states have unified Waqf boards.