New Delhi [India], December 5: The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, will convene for a meeting on Thursday.
Opposition members of the committee had earlier requested an extension of the panel’s tenure from Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. This request came after opposition MPs walked out of a meeting on November 27. Following the walkout, JPC Chairman and BJP MP Jagdambika Pal expressed that members who wished to voice their concerns should not have boycotted the meeting. He emphasized that in the past three months, 29 meetings had been held, with over 147 delegations participating, and all members’ opinions had been addressed.
Pal pointed out that the committee had given ample opportunity for all organizations to be heard, as per its mandate. He mentioned that despite the walkout, he had listened to key opposition figures, including Sanjay Singh, Kalyan Banerjee, and Asaduddin Owaisi.
Since its inception on August 22, the JPC has conducted numerous meetings, reviewing inputs from six ministries and nearly 195 organizations. In total, 146 organizations across the country have been heard, and the secretariat has received nearly 95 lakh suggestions regarding the Waqf Bill.
The Waqf Act of 1995, intended to regulate Waqf properties, has faced criticism for issues such as mismanagement, corruption, and encroachments. The proposed Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 aims to address these issues by introducing reforms like digitization, stricter audits, transparency, and legal measures to reclaim illegally occupied properties. The JPC is working to gather diverse input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members, and community representatives to ensure the bill’s comprehensive reform.