'Panel soon to recommend judicious use of Waqf assets in J&K'

Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council Chairman Haji Anayat Ali today said a house committee would be constituted to recommend measures for optimum utilisation of Waqf assets and to look into the complaints regarding the misuse of its land.
The chairman was intervening during the reply to a question by NC member Dr Shehnaz Ganai regarding Waqf land, which evoked a debate in the House.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Hajj and Auqaf Syed Farooq Ahmad Andrabi in reply to the main question informed the House that 2509.02 kanal of Waqf land is under occupation of various departments, agencies and individuals in the state.

The minister informed that no rent is being paid to Auqaf Islamia Poonch for the land under occupation of different agencies except for two sites of 21.12 kanals situated at Jhullas village and Poonch city.
He said the process for retrieval of Waqf properties has been initiated. "The matter has been taken up with the Home Department, as well as various other concerned departments for vacation of the Waqf properties under their occupation," he assured.
Stating that the occupants have also been directed to pay the rent regularly, he added that necessary proceedings under the Waqf Act 2001 have been initiated to retrieve the property held by individuals.

The Waqf land, he said, recently retrieved at Gandhi Nagar Jammu is temporarily being used as a parking lot as well as for holding exhibitions and trade fairs and the site is expected to generate approximately Rs 40 lakh during the current financial year.

He said the state Waqf Council has taken up the matter for the remaining land at Gandhi Nagar with the occupants for negotiation to bring them in Waqf fold on case to case basis.
The minister said the State Waqf Council has decided to establish three nursing institutes, modern schools and hostel facility in order to provide better education to the students of poor and downtrodden sections on highly affordable rates.

Some seats in these institutes have also been earmarked for the poor meritorious students, he added.
The minister said the Waqf Board as well as Waqf Council are being administered by separate legislation and in order to merge both the institutions, combined legislation is required.
Legislators Yasir Reshi, Sajjad Kichloo, Saif-ud-Din and other members raised the supplementary question to the main question.