Poonam Sharma
During the ongoing process of verification and digitisation of Waqf properties, In UP Deoria district administration has cancelled registration of 205 Waqf Board properties including 165 graveyards in a major administrative action in Uttar Pradesh. The move is an effort of the Central Government to ensure registration of all Waqf properties on the ‘Umeed’ portal, a digital platform created to optimise and track Waqf records across the country.
Officials of the district said that in the official records, there are 1,225 Waqf properties in Deoria. But till now, only 960 properties have been registered on the portal. During scrutiny and verification, authorities found discrepancies and irregularities in several records and therefore cancelled the registration of 205 properties.
Included Large Number of Graveyards
Of the registrations that were cancelled, 165 were graveyards, which make up the bulk of the disputed properties. After verifying revenue records, ownership deeds and land use details, officials said they cancelled the allocations. On several occasions, authorities discovered discrepancies between the actual status of the land and the claims made in Waqf records.
The verification work is being done jointly by the revenue officials and the local administration. Officials are probing whether the properties are compliant with the legal requirements to stay under Waqf ownership and whether its records were kept properly.
Umeed Portal Registration Drive
Earlier, the Union Government had directed all the States and Waqf Boards to digitize and upload the records of Waqf properties through the Umeed portal. The drive aims to improve transparency, curb illegal occupation and develop a central database of Waqf assets in the country.
Based on these instructions, the Deoria district administration has started the registration and verification process. Officials said the lack of full documentation or mismatched land details for many properties triggered further scrutiny.
Of the total 1,225 Waqf properties listed in the district, registrations have been completed for only 960 properties so far. “The other properties are under consideration or awaiting papers.
Administration Bolsters Verification Process
District authorities have said the verification campaign would be continuing in the coming weeks. The authorities are verifying the legal documents and revenue records, if any, of properties registered as Waqf assets. Properties found in breach of norms or without valid documentation may be subject to further administrative measures.
The move is seen as part of a wider drive to bring accountability and transparency to the management of religious and charitable properties. Authorities have also stressed that the process is administrative in nature and is meant to ensure proper maintenance of official land records.
Land Records & Encroachments Concerns
Disputed Waqf properties have been a perennial issue in many parts of Uttar Pradesh and other states. Government agencies have often raised concerns about incomplete documentation, overlapping claims of ownership and alleged encroachments in religious properties.
Officials associated with the Deoria exercise said the digitisation process was helping in finding discrepancies which were difficult to detect in the manual records earlier. In the future, digital mapping and new revenue databases may hopefully reduce some of the confusion around land ownership.
Political and administrative importance
Deoria registrations cancellation to invite political, legal scrutiny as Waqf properties often concern sensitive religious, community matters But officials say the exercise was undertaken in line with legal procedures and government guidelines.
The administration has also clarified that registration cancellation does not automatically determine permanent ownership status in all cases. Affected people might be able to submit additional documents or sue in case of a dispute.
At the same time, the government’s push for digitisation is likely to continue across districts as part of a larger country-wide drive to modernise land and religious property records.
Review Expected to Continue
Officials have said additional properties could be reviewed as verification continues. The administration is likely to scrutinise all pending Waqf properties in the district in phases.
The objective is to develop a correct and legally authenticated database of Waqf properties and to remove incongruities in records, officials said. The result of this exercise will also have a bearing on such verification drives in other districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Slug: Up-graveyards-registration-cancelled-deoria-waqf-properties Meta Description: The Deoria district administration cancelled the registration of 205 Waqf properties, including 165 graveyards, during verification on the Umeed portal under the government’s digitisation drive.
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