By IANS,
New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Gadkari has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take steps to stop misappropriation of the multi-billion-rupee Waqf properties in the country and said the funds should be used for the betterment of the Muslim community.
In a letter to Manmohan Singh, Gadkari said it was a “matter of serious concern that the Waqf properties are encroached upon”. The administration of the properties was also in a bad shape, he added.
Quoting the Sachchar committee report (which studied the socio-economic status of the Muslim community in India), Gadkari said the current market value of Waqf properties was around Rs.120,000 crore.
“If this is put to use through modern market economic methods, it can fetch an annual income of Rs.12,000 crore, which could be used for the welfare of the community,” the letter said.
Gadkari pointed out that there were 600,000 acres of land and 500,000 registered properties under Waqf administration in the country.
He said the funds of the Waqf should be used for setting up professional colleges and other institutes for Muslim youth. Academies to coach community youth for Indian Administrative Service (IAS) examination and other jobs could be opened, the BJP chief suggested.
Gadkari said the Waqf funds should also be used for welfare activities, like setting up orphanages and financing the marriages of poor girls of the community.
The BJP chief said in his letter that “some pseudo-secularists who claim to be the well-wishers of Muslims and other elements” had failed in protecting Waqf properties.