In FY24, the net income generated from Waqf properties fell to about Rs 1.26 crore from Rs 150 crore in FY20.
A Joint Parliamentary Committee met on August 22 to examine the provisions in the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Against this backdrop, a Business Standard analysis found that the net income from Waqf properties, which is used for welfare of the Muslim community, fell 99 per cent over five years between 2019-2020 (FY20) and FY24.
This is despite an increase in the number of properties registered under the Waqf.
Collectively, Waqf properties across various states reported a net income of over Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million) in FY15 and FY16, shows data from the Waqf Assets Management System of India (WAMSI), an online system for registration and searching Waqf properties.
This gradually increased in the subsequent years and exceeded Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) in FY19 and FY20.
However, in the years after, there has been a steady decline in their earnings.
In FY24, the net income generated from Waqf properties fell to about Rs 1.26 crore (Rs 12.6 million).
The entire income came from three states, as others have declared nil net income (chart 1).
Queries to the Waqf Council and minority affairs ministry seeking reasons for this sharp decline in net income remained unanswered at the time of going to press.
The Waqf Council is a statutory body that advises the Centre on Waqf matters, while the minority affairs ministry oversees the working of the Waqf boards.
Net annual income refers to the gross annual income less the expenditure on taxes or licence fee paid to the government or any local authority, repairs and maintenance, and wages.
The Waqf Act 1995 says that government grants, public donations, or fees collected from educational institutions or other such earnings from non-remunerative undertakings like school, colleges, hospitals, or orphanages cannot be considered as income.
Waqf boards have also been accused of financial mismanagement and corruption.
Faizan Mustafa, vice-chancellor, Chanakya National Law University, Patna, says that these Waqf properties need to be developed so that their income increases and the dependence on the government for welfare activities for Muslims reduces.
These are old properties, pay a very small amount of rent, and are never vacated.
Most of the Waqf properties are centrally located and if they are developed into commercial centres then they would give better returns, he says.
The accounts of the various Waqf boards are examined by auditors appointed by the state government.
Since most of the nominations to the Waqf boards and Waqf Council are done by the government, it can, under the 1995 Act, also get the accounts audited by anyone it deems fit for the job.
But if the Comptroller and Auditor General under the new Bill does so, it is fine, says Mustafa.
Even so, properties registered under the Waqf have tripled in the decade since FY15 (chart 2).
With more than 232,500 registered properties, Uttar Pradesh has over a fourth of all Waqf properties in the country.
It is followed by West Bengal (9.23 per cent), Punjab (8.7 per cent), and Tamil Nadu (7.6 per cent) (chart 3).
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
