Two months after the launch of the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) portal, the central government’s flagship digital platform for monitoring Waqf properties, registration figures remain alarmingly low. Despite over 8.72 lakh Waqf properties being recorded on the older Waqf Management System of India (WAMSI) portal, only 69 properties have so far been uploaded on UMEED. The government had set a target of uploading complete details of all Waqf properties within six months of the portal’s inception, but official data shows that most state Waqf boards have barely begun the process, raising questions over transparency and cooperation.
According to Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who presented the figures in a written reply in the Lok Sabha, only 663 “makers,” or Mutawallis responsible for initiating data entry, have started uploading details on the portal. Odisha leads the count with 163 entries, followed by Uttarakhand with 102 and Andhra Pradesh with 69. Several states and union territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim, Goa, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Chhattisgarh, have not begun the process at all. From the remaining contributors, Himachal Pradesh has 27 entries, Odisha 11, Manipur 5, Andhra Pradesh 4, Rajasthan and Punjab 3 each, Uttarakhand 2, and Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Delhi, just 1 each. So far, four property submissions, three from Andhra Pradesh and one from Odisha, have been rejected, and not a single entry has been approved under the portal’s verification system.
Launched in Delhi on June 6, the UMEED portal is designed as a real-time, centralised platform for the registration, verification, and monitoring of over nine lakh estimated Waqf properties in India. It follows a three-tier “Maker-Verifier-Approver” model, where the Mutawalli enters property details, Waqf Board officials verify them, and a designated government authority gives final approval after examining the records. The Ministry has also recommended setting up Project Management Units (PMUs) at the district, Waqf Board, state/UT, and central levels to ensure the timely uploading of property data. As of July 28, about 140 grievances and suggestions from across the country had been received, with their resolutions uploaded on the portal to assist other boards in understanding its functioning.
While UMEED struggles with registrations, the older WAMSI portal still holds detailed records of 8,72,985 immovable Waqf properties managed by 32 Waqf Boards. These include over 1.5 lakh graveyards, around 1.4 lakh agricultural properties, and 1.19 lakh mosques. The Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board has the highest number of properties at 2.17 lakh, followed by the West Bengal Waqf Board with 80,922 and the Punjab Waqf Board with 75,965.
The reluctance to register on UMEED is being linked to growing scrutiny over misuse, encroachment, and corruption in the management of Waqf properties. Allegations of illegal occupation and properties being forcibly declared as Waqf land have surfaced from several states. The central government, citing the need for greater accountability, amended the Waqf Act and introduced UMEED to ensure accurate and legally sound property records. However, unlike WAMSI, which did not require strict legal documentation for registration, UMEED demands thorough verification, leading to speculation that many boards may lack proper paperwork for a significant portion of their properties. Ongoing protests against the Waqf law have also fuelled suspicion that some boards are delaying registration in the hope of a repeal or amendment, which might allow them to avoid disclosing sensitive property details.
Given that not a single property has been approved so far, the government may need to step up monitoring, issue compliance notices, or consider punitive measures. For now, UMEED remains a promising tool for transparency and efficient management, but without the cooperation of Waqf Boards, its objective of reforming one of India’s largest religious endowments could remain unfulfilled.
Comments