The BJP MP was the chairman of the Joint Committee of Parliament which had examined the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year and submitted its report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on January 30.

“The name of that law that we passed is Umeed 2025… Now the Umeed Act is going to be launched under which (documents of) all Waqf properties will have to be uploaded (on the Umeed portal) within six months,” Pal told PTI Videos when asked about the likely launch of the portal.

According to media reports, the ‘Umeed’ portal may be launched this week. However, there is no official confirmation on its schedule from the government.

Pal said that the registration of Waqf properties on the centralised portal will stop their misuse and benefit economically weaker Pasmanda Muslims, women, children and others in the minority community.

With the registration, the Minority Affairs Ministry will have “complete information” about the total number of Waqf properties in the country, the BJP MP said.

“This will stop the misuse of Waqf,” he said, adding the Waqf properties were illegally sold earlier due to lack of information about them.

The BJP leader said that the registration of Waqf properties on the portal will also increase their “income” as the newly enacted law provides for their audit to be carried out by the auditors appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India.

“Its benefit will go to poor Pasmanda Muslims,” he added.

The Waqf (Amendment) Act came into force with the Centre notifying it on April 8.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) bill post-midnight on April 3 and April 4 respectively, and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to it on April 5.

The Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha passed the Waqf (Amendment) bill post-midnight on April 3 and April 4 respectively, and President Droupadi Murmu gave her assent to it on April 5.

The apex court is hearing several petitions related to the law. PTI PK RT