On 5th December, the six-month deadline for registering Waqf properties on UMEED (Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development) portal developed by the centre is going to end. Notably, in four of the five states that have the most Waqf holdings under their boards nationwide, just a third to about a tenth of these have been uploaded, reported The Indian Express.
Uttar Pradesh has the greatest Waqf assets, totalling 1.4 lakh among its Sunni and Shia boards. West Bengal (80,480), Punjab (75,511), Tamil Nadu (66,092) and Karnataka (65,242) follow afterward with the most Waqf properties. All states have united Waqf boards, with the exception of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, which have distinct Sunni and Shia boards.
More than 3.42 lakh property uploads were launched until the evening of 3rd December, overall. Till 4th December, about 35% of these properties were registered on UMEED in Uttar Pradesh. The figure was 10% in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu till 2nd and 3rd December, respectively. However, Punjab registered around 80% of properties as of 3rd December.
The Punjab Waqf Board is registering Waqf estates rather than properties, which makes the procedure easier to handle. The state also has a unique administrative structure in which Waqf estates are managed directly by the board as opposed to by mutawallis (caretakers).
Interestingly, the TMC government last week gave instructions to post information about Waqf properties on the portal after months of opposition to the implementation of the Waqf (Amendment) Act. Of the 80,480 Waqf properties in the state, around 10,000, just 12% were successfully registered on the center’s portal, till 1st December.
Meanwhile, a statement requesting a deadline extension was released by the All India Muslim Personal Law Board which has written to George Kurian, Minister of State for Minority Affairs. The board sought an urgent meeting to discuss the technical issues and ask for more time.
According to the Waqf (Amendment) Act, failure to post on the portal by the due date would only have the option of approaching the waqf tribunal. The tribunal then might grant an extra period of up to six months only if it is satisfied with the explanation regarding the delay.
“After SC refused to extend the deadline of the portal, mutawallis across the country rushed to upload waqf properties. However, reports have been pouring in about technical gliches and that the portal is repeatedly crashing, slowing down and at times stopping entirely,” alleged AIMPLB spokesperson SQR Ilyas and added that “it is almost impossible to upload details of lakhs of Waqf properties within such a short period.” Other members of the board have also been making similar statements.
However an official countered, “We have deployed all resources, including technical staff, to handle the rush. If the UMEED portal has successfully handled over one lakh uploads in just the past 100 hours, how can its functionality be questioned on grounds of hanging or malfunctioning?”
The officer expressed that “nearly four months there were few uploads and now the sudden surge has created an unusually heavy load, prompting complaints that stem more from delayed action than from any flaw in the portal itself.”
The centre notified the +Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Rules, 2025″ on 3rd July in relation to the recently updated laws, pertaining to portal and database of the properties, audit and account maintenance, among others. The guidelines have been formulated under the powers conferred by Section 108B of the Waqf Act, 1995, which was introduced through the Waqf (Amendment) Act 2025 and went into force on 8th April.
