‘Committee to make decisions after receiving information…’: Jagdambika Pal after meeting on Waqf Amendment Bill

New Delhi [India], December 26 (ANI): Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal, held a meeting with the Principal Secretary and Revenue Secretary of the Department of Minority Affairs from Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh to review both registered and unregistered Waqf properties in these states.
After the conclusion of the meeting, Jagdambika Pal revealed that extra time was granted to Madhya Pradesh for providing the required information, while the committee is awaiting responses from Karnataka and Rajasthan before taking further action.
He said that once the information is received from these states, the committee will proceed to make decisions regarding further actions on the Waqf properties.
After the conclusion of JPC meeting on the Waqf Amendment Bill, Jagdambika Pal said, "Today, we had a meeting with the principal secretary and revenue secretary of the Department of minority affairs of Karnataka, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh - to know the registered and unregistered properties and the status of the Waqf properties there. We have given some extra time to Madhya Pradesh. We are yet to receive any reply from Karnataka and Rajasthan - and then we will decide on them after that."

Visuals show the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf Bill chairman Jagdambika Pal and committee members leave after the conclusion of today's meeting.
Jagdambika Pal arrived for a meeting of the Committee on Parliament premises on Thursday.
The committee was scheduled to meet on December 26 and 27 to record oral evidence from state representatives as part of its deliberations on the proposed legislation.
The committee heard representatives of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on December 26 and will hear from Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Delhi on December 27.
Earlier, the JPC met Muslim representatives from Lucknow and Rajasthan in its meeting.
After the meeting, the chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament, Jagdambika Pal, told ANI, "Former VC of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University, Lucknow and former chairman of the Rajasthan Waqf Board, came with their proposed amendments. There was a clause-by-clause discussion on it. MPs also posed questions to them."
The committee included Syed Abubakar Naqvi, the former chairman and state minister of the Waqf Board in Rajasthan, and Prof. Mahrukh Mirza, the former vice chancellor of Khwaja Chishti Moinuddin Language University, Lucknow.
Recently, the Lok Sabha approved a motion to extend the tenure of the JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill and mandated the presentation of their report by the end of the 2025 Budget Session.
On December 5, Jagdambika Pal, head of the JPC, noted that the committee had held 27 meetings in Delhi before the extension of its tenure. These meetings included discussions with multiple stakeholders and various ministries of the Government of India.
The Waqf Act of 1995, enacted to regulate waqf properties, has long been criticised for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aims to address these challenges by introducing reforms such as digitisation, enhanced audits, improved transparency, and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The JPC is conducting extensive consultations with government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members, and community representatives from various states and Union Territories to ensure a comprehensive overhaul of the legislation. (ANI)