“Computerisation of the records of the State Wakf Boards will involve preparing a detailed inventory of wakf properties and creation of a centralised and web-enabled data base, which would help RTI applicants to get proper information regarding issues relating to such properties,” a source in the Ministry of Minority Affairs told Deccan Herald.
CEO of Karnataka Board of Wakfs would be a member of the Project Management Committee, which would be headed by the DDG of National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The scheme of computerisation would be implemented across all the 29 State Wakf Boards during the plan period 2009-2012 at a total cost of Rs 22.84 crore. In the Budget Estimate of 2009-2010, an amount of Rs 10 crore has been earmarked for this purpose.
While the Ministry of Minority Affairs would oversee the entire project and look after fund allocation and management, the state governments would set up committees for coordination with field departments for effective implementation with two representatives as experts from outside the Government and one from IT Department.
The Central Wakf Council would network with State Wakf Boards and NIC and oversee reconciliation of data. Funds would be released to NIC, which would implement the project in a turnkey manner, and to the State Wakf Boards directly for the scheme.
Utilisation certificates would be routed through the state governments by the Wakf Boards concerned after due expenditure.
Apart from Right to Information Act compliance, the other broad objectives of the project would be ensuring proper survey and cross-checking of wakf data from various computer data bases maintained at the state level such as by Revenue Departments etc, and also tracking of encroachments on wakf properties.
Fund management
It would also facilitate fund management to mosques, dargah, kabristan, Imams, Muazzins, widows, scholarships, hospitals and skill development centres and also loan management for development of the urban wakf properties.
The source said inspite of the fact that wakf properties were spread out all over the country, even the basic survey of wakf properties have not been done in most states.
“There is hardly any development of wakf properties and a very substantial income that the wakf properties could have generated for the welfare schemes of the community are lost because of non-development and large scale encroachment of wakf properties,” he said.
Therefore, to streamline record keeping, introduce transparency and to develop a single web based centralised application, the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Wakf in its ninth report, had recommended computerisation of records and Central financial assistance to these Boards.
