West Bengal Waqf Board initiates 1.33 lakh properties for documentation

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said West Bengal has initiated 1,33,417 Waqf properties for documentation, a huge jump from 80,548. Of these, 1,15,551 were validated and 12,720 rejected. 103 encroachment proceedings have also been initiated.

Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday informed that 1,33,417 waqf properties were initiated by the Board of Auqaf, West Bengal, for uploading on the UMEED Central Portal-2025. This figure marks a dramatic rise from the historically cited baseline of 80,548 properties, signalling a thorough re-evaluation and documentation drive across the state.

In a written reply to BJP West Bengal president and Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya, Rijiju said the West Bengal Board of Auqaf had been granted a six-month extension by the Waqf Tribunal, Kolkata, to upload details of Waqf properties on the UMEED Central Portal-2025. The extended deadline expired on June 24, 2026.

Property Verification and Validation Status

Responding to a question on the number of Waqf properties uploaded, validated, approved and rejected on the UMEED Portal, and whether the West Bengal Waqf Board had complied with the extended statutory deadline, Rijiju said that as of July 15, 2026, a total of 1,33,417 Waqf properties had been initiated by the Board of Auqaf, West Bengal, for uploading on the portal. The rejection of 12,720 properties underscores the strict quality checks enforced during the verification phase to eliminate duplicate records or unsubstantiated claims. "Of these, 1,15,551 Waqf properties had been validated and approved, while 12,720 properties had been rejected during verification," he said.

Action Against Illegal Encroachments

Alongside documentation, the transparency drive has brought illegal occupations under the scanner. The verification process successfully exposed illicit holdings, prompting immediate legal interventions. "A total of 103 instances of encroachment proceedings have been drawn under Section 54 of the UMEED Act, 1995 by the Office of Board of Auqaf, West Bengal," the Minister confirmed, outlining the formal steps initiated for the recovery of encroached properties.

Future Focus on Legal Recovery

With the digital onboarding phase largely stabilised, the focus in West Bengal now shifts toward expediting pending clearances and aggressively pursuing the legal recovery of disputed endowment lands.

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