Government concerned over delay in computerisation of Wakf records

NEW DELHI: Lamenting slow pace of work in computerisation of records of Wakf Board properties across the country, Minority Affairs Minister K Rahman Khan said that his ministry is exploring the possibility of outsourcing the task to some other agency.

Khan, addressing chairmans and CEOs of different Waqf Boards during the national conference on Waqf (Amendment) Act 2013, said that the Phase I of the computerisation scheme was to be completed during the 11th Plan itself, but it has been found that the progress work is very slow and the work is not completed yet.

"The first phase work as outlined in the scheme needs to be completed by opting alternative arrangements of outsourcing to some agency. We are also exploring possibility of outsourcing it to a different agency," Khan said.

He, however, said that the final decision will be taken after a through discussion.

Khan lamented that due to slow pace of work and non-completion of the first phase, the Waqf Boards could not move to the second phase of the scheme under which GIS mapping of Waqf properties needs to be done. This mapping envisages to help in protection from encroachers, he said.

"Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are lagging far behind. If computerisation in UP and AP is done, it will complete 85 per cent of the scheme. But out of the total 3.28, only 50,000 computerisation has been done. How will transparency take place if there is no computerisation," Khan said.

He, however, said that the ministry has decided that whatever computerisation and digitalisation has been done till now, it will be brought into the public domain.

"Earlier, it was decided that the records will be brought out after the completion of the scheme. But now whatever has been achieved will be put on the Internet and when it will be completed, the entire thing will be given on the Internet. Now, people can get details from any part of the world," Khan added.

He said that the meeting of the chairmans and the CEOs of the Waqf Board is called every six months to discuss the implementation of the Waqf Act.