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Context:

The Union Government launches 'Umeed' portal to digitize and centralize Waqf property registrations nationwide.

What is Waqf?

Waqf, in Islamic law, is a charitable endowment where a person dedicates property for religious or charitable purposes. Once a property is declared as Waqf, it cannot be sold, gifted, or mortgaged.

The person who creates the Waqf is called the 'Waqif'. The income generated from these properties is used for the welfare of the community, such as funding schools, hospitals, orphanages, and supporting the poor.

What is the 'Umeed' Portal?

'Umeed' stands for 'Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development'. 

It is a centralized digital platform designed to achieve:

• Centralized Registration => It will create a single, unified database of all Waqf properties across the country.
• Transparency and Accountability => By making property details public and standardized, the portal aims to bring greater transparency to the management of these assets and reduce instances of mismanagement or encroachment.
• Efficiency => Digitization is expected to make the administration and management of these properties more efficient for the State Waqf Boards.
• Empowerment and Development => The portal aims to ensure that the benefits derived from these properties reach the intended beneficiaries, which primarily include women, children, and the economically weaker sections of society.

Registration Process

Mandatory Registration => All Waqf properties must be registered on the 'Umeed' portal. The respective State Waqf Boards will handle the registration process.

Timeline => There is a strict deadline of six months from the portal's launch for this registration to be completed.

Detailed Information Required => The registration is not just a formality. It requires detailed descriptions of each property, including its specific dimensions and its geotagged location.

Provision for Extension => If there are genuine technical or other significant reasons for a delay, an extension of one to two months may be granted.

Consequences of Non-Registration => Properties that are not registered within the given timeframe (including any extension) will be declared 'disputed'. These cases will then be referred to the Waqf Tribunal for resolution. Waqf Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies established to adjudicate disputes related to Waqf properties.

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 Source: 

INDIATODAY