Development Of Urban Wakf Properties

With a view to protect vacant Wakf land from encrochers and to develop it on commercial lines for generating more income in an order to widen the scope for welfare activities, Central Wakf Council has been implementing this scheme since 1974 - 75 with yearlygrant-in-aid from the Central Government. Under the Scheme, loan is extended to various Wakf Institutions in the country for taking up economically viable buildings on the Wakf land such as commercial complex, marriage halls, hospitals, cold storage etc. For this, the Central Government has released a total grant-in-aid amounting to Rs. 20 Crores 84.11 lakhs only, since September 1974 to March, 2001, and in turn the Central Wakf Council has extended loan to 100 projects approved by the Council as well as by the Government of India. Out of these 100projects 60 projects have been completed in aqll respect and are yielding income. This has been possible because the loan amount is repaid to the Council by the loanee institutions in easy instalments and the amount thus recieve back forms a Revolving Fund, which again utilized for giving loans up to Rs. 20 lakhs to the Minor Development Projects on Wakf properties. Under this scheme, the Council had released a sum of Rs. 4 crores 12.41 lakhs to 84 projects up to 31.01.2001, out of which 51 projects have been completed.

Therefore, with the total grant-in-aid of Rs. 20 crores 84.11 lakhs received by the Council, it has been able to get 111 projects completed and the work on more than fifty sites is going on. This has received appreciation of all sections of the society describing it a magic of management.

The grant-in-aid received by the Central Wakf Council is forwarded to the loanee Wakfs in the form of interest free loans for the Development of Urban Wakf Properties while the Council bears the entire expenditure on the staff working in the Scheme as well as other expenses on paper, postage etc. Against this service rendered by the Council, it puts two conditions on the loanee Wakf institutions i.e. (i) they would pay 6% donation on the outstanding loan to the Education Fund for the Educational Scheme of the Council meant for educational upliftment of the poor Muslims; (ii) after the repayment of the loan, they would spend 40% of their enhanced income on the education of the Muslims particularly on the technical education.