The long-delayed project to geotag all Waqf properties across the country that began in 2017 under the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs’ “Quami Waqf Boards Taraqqiati Scheme” has yet again revised its deadline from March 2022 to November 2023.
The scheme was envisaged on the basis of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee in the past. The government wanted to map the immovable assets under the Waqf boards, to ensure its proper utilisation and monetisation. The exercise is also aimed at ensuring that these properties are not lost to encroachments and other counter ownership claims.
According to estimates, there are over six lakh Waqf properties, out of which, in the last five years, 2 lakh properties have been geotagged. To speed up the process, the Central Waqf Council, an autonomous body under the Minority Affairs Ministry, has called for bids by March 21 to empanel more agencies to carry out the GIS/GPS survey. A pre-bid meeting has been called for on Wednesday.
