No penalties for registering waqf properties till three months after deadline, says Centre

New Delhi: Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday ruled out extending the deadline for registering Waqf properties on the UMEED portal but said his ministry, recognising the concerns of ‘mutawallis’ or Waqf property caretakers, will not impose any penalty or take strict action for the next three months as a humanitarian and facilitative measure. He also said that 151,000 properties had been registered by Friday morning.

Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju

Rijiju stressed that those mutawallis who have not registered on the portal at all can approach their respective Waqf tribunals. The Centre launched The Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development (UMEED) Act central portal on June 6 to create a digital inventory.

According to the provisions of the portal, details of all registered Waqf properties across the country must be uploaded within six months. The six-month deadline for registration ends at 11:59pm on December 6. The six-month deadline mandated under Waqf Amendment Act cannot be extended due to the provisions of the Act, and clear directions of the Supreme Court, the minister said.