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As Portal Falters, Lakhs of Waqf Properties Remain Unregistered; Opposition MPs Demand Deadline Extension

Minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned that the government will not impose any fine or take any strict action for the next three months, in case boards have failed to upload the details through mutawallis in the Umeed portal. Today (December 5) is the deadline for registration.
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Tamanna Naseer
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Minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned that the government will not impose any fine or take any strict action for the next three months, in case boards have failed to upload the details through mutawallis in the Umeed portal. Today (December 5) is the deadline for registration.
as portal falters lakhs of waqf properties remain unregistered opposition mps demand deadline extension
File photo: People raise slogans during a protest rally against the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2025, in Mysuru on May 3, 2024. Photo: PTI.
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New Delhi: A day before the government portal closes for registrations on Saturday (December 6), several major Waqf boards in the country have managed to upload only a fraction of their property records. The online platform was launched by the Union government on June 6. Opposition MPs have raised the issue in parliament and a delegation has also met Union minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju to demand an extension of the deadline. The minister mentioned that no strict action will be taken by the government for the next three months without indicating any deadline extension.

The slow progress is due to the 'Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development' (Umeed) portal repeatedly crashing along with the difficulty of locating documents for centuries-old endowments, absence of digitally trained individuals to enter the required information and the challenge of dealing with varying land-measurement systems across states.

The Umeed portal was launched by the Union government under the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Act as a centralised digital repository for all Waqf assets with geo-tagging and documentation. Section 3B of the Act stipulated mandatory registration of Waqf properties on the portal. The government has argued that this will improve transparency, protection and oversight of these assets, which span 9.4 lakh acres across 8.7 lakh properties and are valued at an estimated Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

Yesterday (December 4), fact checker and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair pointed on X that several users are facing issues while using the portal.

"Several users from across the country are complaining of intermittent issues with the Umeed portal since the last couple of days. 1. People are not able to open the umeed portal. 2. People are not able to register to the Umeed portal. ( Registration OTPs not being received) 3. Registered users are not able to submit details because of Umeed portal UI issues," Zubair wrote.

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Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 1.4 lakh properties across its Sunni and Shia boards, followed by West Bengal (80,480), Punjab (75,511), Tamil Nadu (66,092) and Karnataka (65,242). Apart from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, all states operate a single Waqf board.

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The Indian Express reported that around 35% of Uttar Pradesh’s properties had been uploaded by Thursday, about 12% had been entered in West Bengal by Monday night and Karnataka and Tamil Nadu stood at roughly 10% as of Tuesday and Wednesday. In West Bengal, the state government had recently directed district magistrates to begin registration of the Waqf properties following opposition from Muslim groups.

Punjab is the outlier: close to 80% of its records were uploaded by Wednesday evening. Officials explained IE that the Punjab Waqf Board registers “Waqf estates” rather than individual properties, making the task more manageable. The board also directly administers these estates since the state does not have mutawallis.

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Also read: Narendra Modi's Cover-Up Politics Gets a New Chapter With Waqf Bill. But Can it Survive?

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On Tuesday (December 2), minority affairs minister Rijiju mentioned that December 5 remains the final date to register Waqf properties while acknowledging that he has received several requests from Waqf boards and stakeholders seeking an extension.

"As Minister of Minority Affairs, I have received several requests from Waqf Boards and stakeholders seeking an extension. For any grievance or issue related to Waqf properties, the UMEED Act provides a clear remedial mechanism, stakeholders may approach the Waqf Tribunal as prescribed under the law. The Ministry remains committed to transparency, accountability, and strengthening Waqf management across the country," Rijiju wrote on X.

Today (December 5), Rijiju pointed out that the ministry will not impose any fine or take any strict action for the next three months, in case boards have failed to upload the details through mutawallis.

"I want to give an assurance that for all those who, through the mutawallis, tried to upload details on the Umeed portal but could not complete the registration, we will provide you with another opportunity. For the next three months, we will not take any strict action, impose any penalties, or levy any fines. During these three months, all Waqf properties under mutawallis should complete their registration," the minister told news agencies. 

On Monday (December 1), a Supreme Court bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and A.G. Masih refused to extend the six-month deadline to register Waqf properties. The bench observed that the statute itself provides a mechanism to seek more time from the Waqf Tribunal.

Following the apex court's ruling, the official X account of the Ministry of Minority Affairs wrote on X that almost three lakh Waqf properties uploads have already been "initiated" on the portal reiterating that it is "mandatory" and urging those who have not completed the process to "hurry".

Earlier on November 28, the ministry handle mentioned that 2,47,780 Waqf property uploads were initiated.

Opposition MPs demand extension

Yesterday, a delegation of MPs met Rijiju to seek at least a six-month extension of the registration deadline on the Umeed portal.

A group of Rajya Sabha MPs including Naseer Hussain met Kiren Rijiju.

Opposition MPs meet Union minister Kiren Rijiju and demand an extension of deadline to register Waqf properties on Umeed portal. Photo: X/@NasirHussainINC.

"We conveyed that the six‑month compliance window has effectively been much shorter because the Act commenced on 08.04.2025, the portal went live only on 06.06.2025, the rules were notified on 03.07.2025, and clarity on key provisions came only after the Supreme Court’s interim order in mid‑September. In this truncated period, users have repeatedly faced undefined errors during login, frequent crashes while uploading data, deletion of partially entered information, slow loading, and a portal that often works only for a few hours a day," Congress MP Naseer Hussain wrote on X.

He added: "We also highlighted that most auqaf are in rural areas and many mutawallis are elderly or not digitally trained, yet the portal still demands precise area, boundary and historical title details that are often unavailable for century‑old waqfs, making it impossible to complete mandatory fields. Where old surveys or Gazette notifications do not record boundaries, the portal still insists on details “as existing at the time of dedication”, a requirement that even State Waqf Boards are unable to satisfy in thousands of cases."

The Rajya Sabha MP noted that Rijiju responded positively and assured the delegation that he would "instruct the concerned officers to take necessary steps so that genuine Waqf properties and mutawallis are protected, and the law is implemented with fairness and practicality".

Similarly, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Fauzia Khan mentioned that MPs have raised "urgent concerns" to ensure "Waqf boards and mutawallis are not left behind in the digital transition".

Kishanganj MP, Dr Mohammed Jawaid, has repeatedly raised the issue in Lok Sabha underlining that thousands of mosques, graves, madrasas and dargahs are at risk of de-recognition. "Today I moved an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha on the urgent failure of the government to ensure a functional #Umeed portal for compulsory registration of Waqf properties. With thousands of mosques, graveyards, madrasas and dargahs at risk of derecognition due to repeated portal crashes, this is a serious administrative lapse threatening minority assets across India," the Congress MP wrote on X yesterday. 

Today, Jawaid moved an adjournment motion demanding an extension of the deadline and support.

Protesting outside the parliament premise yesterday, Congress MP Imran Pratapgarhi underlined that the server keeps crashing and the deadline should be extended.

"The last date was December 5, and so far only 30% of the properties have been registered. The server keeps crashing. Many people submitted a memorandum to minister Kiren Rijiju and sent written requests. If Waqf properties are to be digitised, the registration deadline should be extended to ensure completion," Pratapgarhi said.

This article went live on December fifth, two thousand twenty five, at nineteen minutes past two in the afternoon.

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