Waqf Amendment Bill report to be presented in Lok Sabha tomorrow

The report of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, is slated to be presented in the Lok Sabha on Monday (February 3). According to the List of Business, Jagdambika Pal, the Chairman of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sanjay Jaiswal, will present the report (Hindi and English versions) of the Joint Committee on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

They will also lay on the table the record of evidence given before the Joint Committee. The report was presented to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30. On the same day, Jagdambika Pal arrived at the Parliament to meet with the Speaker and hand over the committee's final report on the bill. The JPC on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill adopted the draft report and the amended revised bill on Wednesday (January 29). However, the opposition leaders submitted their dissent notes on the report. The JPC had earlier cleared the Waqf Bill 1995 with 25 amendments across 14 clauses and sections.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday (January 29), JPC Chairman Jagdambika Pal said, "We have adopted the report and the amended revised bill. For the first time, we have included a section stating that the benefits of Waqf should go to the marginalized, poor, women, and orphans and we will present this report to the Speaker."

"We had 44 clauses before us, out of which amendments were proposed by members in 14 clauses. We conducted a majority vote,



and these amendments were then adopted," he added.

However, the JPC's actions sparked criticism from opposition leaders. 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.

As per the List of Business, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to also move for leave to introduce a Bill to establish the Institute of Rural Management Anand as a university, to be known as the "Tribhuvan" Sahkari University Bill, and to declare it as an institution of national importance on Monday, February 3. 

Amit Shah will introduce the bill to impart technical and management education and training in the co-operative sector; to promote cooperative research and development and to attain standards of global excellence therein in order to realise the vision of "Sahkar Se Samriddhi" and to strengthen the co-operative movement in the country through a network of institutions, and also to declare the Institute as one of the Schools of the University and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, as mentioned in the List of Business. 

The Budget session of Parliament began on January 31 and will continue till April 4.