JPC on Waqf Amendment Bill meeting underway, Minority Affairs Ministry recording oral evidence

New Delhi: The Joint Committee of Parliament on Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 commenced a meeting at the Parliament Annexe building in the national capital on Monday.
In today's meeting, chaired by BJP MP Jagdambika Pal, the Minority Affairs Ministry is recording their oral evidence after being asked by the committee.
the committee called representatives of the Minority Affairs Ministry to record their oral evidence.
The committee will again meet tomorrow, October 22, when it will hear views and suggestions of Justice in Reality, Cuttack, Odisha and Panchasakha Prachar Cuttack, Odisha Bani Mandali, on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
A delegation of five MPs from the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) will also record their views and suggestions on the 'Waqf (Amendment) 2024' before the committee.
It is pertinent to note that the JPC's efforts are part of a larger national initiative to reform the Waqf Act and ensure that waqf properties are used for the greater good of the community.
It is also notable that the Waqf Act, 1995, which was created to regulate waqf properties, has long faced allegations of mismanagement, corruption and encroachments.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to bring sweeping reforms, introducing digitisation, stricter audits, transparency and legal mechanisms to reclaim illegally occupied properties.
The JPC is holding a series of meetings to gather input from government officials, legal experts, Waqf Board members and community representatives from different states and Union Territories, aiming for the most comprehensive reform possible.