West Bengal witnesses massive surge in Waqf properties as over 1.3 lakh entries flood UMEED portal
New Delhi, July 30
Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday informed that 1,33,417 waqf properties were initiated by the Board of Auqaf, West Bengal, for uploading on the UMEED Central Portal-2025.
This figure marks a dramatic rise from the historically cited baseline of 80,548 properties, signalling a thorough re-evaluation and documentation drive across the state.
In a written reply to BJP West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, Rijiju said the West Bengal Board of Auqaf had been granted a six-month extension by the Waqf Tribunal, Kolkata, to upload details of Waqf properties on the UMEED Central Portal-2025. The extended deadline expired on June 24, 2026.
Responding to a question on the number of Waqf properties uploaded, validated, approved and rejected on the UMEED Portal, and whether the West Bengal Waqf Board had complied with the extended statutory deadline, Rijiju said that as of July 15, 2026, a total of 1,33,417 Waqf properties had been initiated by the Board of Auqaf, West Bengal, for uploading on the portal.
The rejection of 12,720 properties underscores the strict quality checks enforced during the verification phase to eliminate duplicate records or unsubstantiated claims.
"Of these, 1,15,551 Waqf properties had been validated and approved, while 12,720 properties had been rejected during verification," he said.
Alongside documentation, the transparency drive has brought illegal occupations under the scanner. The verification process successfully exposed illicit holdings, prompting immediate legal interventions.
"A total of 103 instances of encroachment proceedings have been drawn under Section 54 of the UMEED Act, 1995 by the Office of Board of Auqaf, West Bengal," the Minister confirmed, outlining the formal steps initiated for the recovery of encroached properties.
With the digital onboarding phase largely stabilised, the focus in West Bengal now shifts toward expediting pending clearances and aggressively pursuing the legal recovery of disputed endowment lands.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Good initiative, but I hope this isn't just a political tool to target the Waqf Board. The 103 encroachment cases show there are genuine issues, but we need to ensure the process is fair and not used to harass minority communities. Let the law take its course without bias. 🙏
Waah! Over 80,000 properties suddenly become 1.33 lakh? That's a massive jump, not a "thorough re-evaluation." Either the earlier count was fake or this one is inflated. And the Board got a six-month extension to upload data, then missed the deadline? Arre, how can you trust a system that can't even meet its own timelines? 🤔
Finally, some accountability! I'm glad the Ministry is cracking down on illegal occupations. Those 12,720 rejected properties probably included many fraudulent claims by land mafia. This is a big win for ordinary citizens who have lost land to encroachers. Keep it up! ✊
The article says "illegal holdings" were exposed, but who defines what's illegal? In Bengal, many Waqf properties have been under local Muslim families for generations with community consent. This central portal might be used to snatch lands from poor families and hand them over to builders. Be careful, please! 😢
Valid point about fairness, but the numbers don't lie. 80,548 to 1,33,417 is a 65% increase! That suggests massive under-reporting earlier
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