Bhubaneswar, Nov 11: A meeting between members of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) and various stakeholders is going on in Bhubaneswar on the Waqf amendment bill, 2024.

The proposed meeting is a part of JPC's study tour in five cities - Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Kolkata, Patna, and Lucknow- between November 9 and 14 to collect the opinions of various stakeholders in these states on the bill.

Speaking to media persons on the sidelines of the meeting, Bhubaneswar MP and member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf amendment bill, 2024, Aparajita Sarangi, on Monday said that the aim behind the Indian government’s initiative is to bring improvements in the administration of the waqf boards.

Sarangi also noted that as many as 44 amendments have been proposed in the Waqf Act, of 1995. She further stated that it is the duty of the JPC to collect the opinions of different people and organisations in various parts of the country on the proposed amendments.

The JPC was set up on August 9, 2024, while its first meeting was held on August 22. Sarangi told the media persons that 25 sittings of more than 100 hours have so far been completed.

“We have visited various states in south India and now we are touring eastern India states. Various persons, organisations and whoever wants to present some views on the issue are invited to meetings. In the last three months, 195 organisations and persons have been invited to present their opinions. Of this, 146 organisations and persons have already presented their opinions, both in favour and against the bill,” said Sarangi.

“We want to know how the waqf boards are functioning and what are their views on the 44 amendments. The statements of officials of six ministries of the Indian government have also been recorded. In this series, today we are in Odisha where we will sit for a day-long meeting. As many as 100 persons related to 13 organisations are attending the meeting today to present their opinions on the bill,” added Sarangi.

She asserted that the JPC will prepare its report in a completely democratic way giving respect to the opinion of everyone. The report will be handed over to speaker Om Birla at the earliest.

Sarangi said that the JPC has so far received 95,86,000 oral and written opinions on the issue. The committee has so far visited eight states and the meeting in Bhubaneswar is the last in this phase.

“As per the WAMSI (Waqf Assets Management System of India) portal of the Ministry of Minority Affairs, 38 lakh acres of land is under the possession of the waqf boards. However, the land has been illegally occupied at many places and failing to generate as much income as it should,” added Sarangi.

Meanwhile, one of the participants told media persons that they would oppose the government's decision to Include Non-Muslims on Waqf Boards as it is a religious institution.

--IANS

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