"Now no one can rob lands in name of Waqf Board": UP CM Yogi Adityanath

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 5 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while lauding the passing of the Waqf Amendment Bill on Saturday said that now "no one can rob lands in the name of Waqf Board," with public property being used to build schools, colleges, hospitals, or housing for the poor.
"Now, no one can rob lands in the name of the Waqf Board... Public property and revenue lands will now be used to build schools, colleges, hospitals, or housing for the poor," Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister said.
CM Adityanath thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for ensuring the passage of the bill, saying how in Uttar Pradesh Waqf board had become a means to "illegaly occupy land."
"I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for this because, in Uttar Pradesh, too, lakhs of acres of land had been illegally occupied in the name of the Waqf Board. It had become a means of loot for some people. Now, this looting will be curbed."
Following the passing of the Bill by the Lok Sabha (288 in favour) and the Rajya Sabha (128 in favour), multiple Opposition parties have launched their protests and objections to it, with Congress and AIMIM challenging it in the Supreme Court.
Earlier, Bihar Governor Arif Mohammed Khan highlighted his experience of overseeing land disputes regarding Waqf.
"When I served as a minister in UP, I handled the Waqf department for some time. All the time, I had to meet people who had property cases going on because it is a property case. What is Waqf? One says that it is not their property but Allah's property. Waqf properties were there for the welfare of the people," the Bihar Governor said.
The Bill passed in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha now awaits President Droupadi Murmu's assent to become an Act. After two days of heated debate in both houses of Parliament, the Waqf Amendment Bill 2025 was passed.
The government introduced the revised bill after incorporating the recommendations of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, which examined the legislation introduced in August last year. The bill seeks to amend the Act of 1995 and improve the administration and management of Waqf properties in India.
The Bill aims to overcome the shortcomings of the previous act and enhance the efficiency of Waqf boards, improving the registration process and increasing the role of technology in managing Waqf records. (ANI)