Amravati: The NDA government led by Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh said that it dissolved the State Waqf Board constituted by the pervious government due to certain concerns. It also promised that a new Board will be formed at the earliest, IANS reported.
The coalition government’s clarification came amid reports in a section of the media that the State Waqf Board has been abolished.
“Andhra Pradesh government strikes down the Waqf Board. There is no provision in the Constitution, which supports the existence of one in a secular India,” Malviya claimed while reacting to a news channel’s report that the Andhra Pradesh government abolished the Waqf Board implying there won't be any waqf board now on.
Following this, the government issued a clarification. “The Andhra Pradesh Waqf Board has remained non-functional since March 2023, leading to a period of administrative stagnation. The withdrawal of G.O. Ms. No. 47 became imperative due to several substantive concerns. These include 13 writ petitions challenging its validity, the absence of adequate representation from Sunni and Shia scholars, the non-inclusion of former MPs, the appointment of junior advocates without transparent criteria, questions surrounding the eligibility of certain members, and the inability to elect a chairman owing to ongoing litigation,” reads the clarification.
“The GoAP will take appropriate measures to address these defects and constitute a new Waqf Board at the earliest,” it added.
The Minorities Welfare Department on Saturday (November 30) issued a Government Order, withdrawing the GO issued in October last year, constituting the Waqf Board.
The then government of YSR Congress Party had constituted the 11-member Waqf Board following a High Court order. Three of them were elected members while the remaining were nominated.
On a petition challenging the process followed to constitute the Waqf Board, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on November 1, 2023, stayed the election of the chairperson of the State Waqf Board.
The GO number 75 issued on Saturday mentions that the Chief Executive Officer of the State Waqf Board brought to the government’s attention the prolonged non-functioning of the Board and the pendency of writ petitions questioning the legality of G.O. Ms. No. 47 to resolve the litigations and prevent an administrative vacuum
The AP government's decision made more headlines possibly in the background of the Central Government's move to introduce an amended Waqf Act, which nullified several of the provisions in the existing Waqf Act which protects the Muslim community's control over waqf property. The proposed legislation takes away several provisions and replaces them with new clauses that undermine the permance of waqf properties, in addition to leaving room for citizen's complaints regarding waqf ownership which will then be left to district collectors to decide, in effect giving room for government's arbitrary actions including takeover of property bequeathed by philanthropic Muslims in the cause of service for the community. As per current law, disputes regarding waqf property are resolved by duly constituted quasi judicial body of Waqf Tribunals.