Uttarakhand BJP Govt has announced to bring all Waqf Properties under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The Waqf Board in the state of Uttarakhand is governed by the Waqf Act 1995, which was amended in 2013 and later in 2020. The amendment in the year 2020 was related to the lease of Waqf properties.
The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005, empowers citizens to seek information from public authorities that comes under the ambit of this ACT. The decision to bring all Waqf properties under the ambit of RTI Act will enable citizens to access information about these properties regarding their profit loss and expenses and even the policies. This move comes after the State Information Commission (SIC) ordered the management of Piran Kaliyar Dargah in Roorkee to provide information sought under RTI, as it is “governed by a statutory body and cannot refuse to provide information sought under RTI Act”.
About 2200 Waqf properties are registered with the Uttarakhand Waqf Board. Now, All the information will be made public including the process of their income-expenditure and works being conducted. This move will bring the Waqf properties to be scrutinized by general public under the RTI act, there were several instances reported of mis-management of properties and the money managed the Waqf board.