West Bengal government directs digitisation of waqf properties on UMEED portal

A letter from the West Bengal Minority Affairs Department, directing all District Magistrates to upload data on registered waqf properties in the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal, has given the Opposition an opportunity to target the ruling Trinamool Congress government in the State.

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2025 was passed by Parliament in April 2025. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had said the law would not be implemented in the State.

A letter by P.B. Salim, Secretary, West Bengal Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, to all District Magistrates (DMs) on November 27 states that all the ‘Existing Registered Waqf Properties’ are to be uploaded by the respective mutawallis (managers/trustees) within six months from the date of launch of the UMEED Central Portal. The said six-month period expires on December 5, 2025.

The letter also states that, in West Bengal, there are about 82,000 waqf properties under 8,000 waqf estates to be uploaded by the mutawallis of the waqfs.

The communication has provided an opportunity for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to target the West Bengal government.

“After spending months provoking the Muslim community to oppose the Waqf Amendment Act, Mamata Banerjee has finally bowed to the law. Seven months later, the West Bengal government has accepted the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025,” BJP leader Amit Malviya said on social media.

All District Magistrates had been instructed to upload details of every waqf property on the UMEED portal, Mr. Malviya said. “The directive came through P.B. Salim, Secretary of the Minority Affairs and Madrasah Education Department, in a letter to all DMs. In short — West Bengal will have to run as per the law of the land and the Constitution, not Mamata Banerjee’s politics of obstruction,” the head of the BJP’s IT cell said.

In the letter, Mr. Salim has expained an eight-point programme for uploading the details of waqf properties on the UMEED portal, including familiarising with the portal, organising meetings and workshops by involving the mutawallis, and imams (madrasa teachers) on uploading the details. A list of mutawallis has been shared, data entry is to be carried out in two parts, with initial OTP (one time password)-based registration by individual mutawallis, and enrolment of waqf property details.

The communication also suggested that controversial waqf properties, if any, need not be registered in this phase. In his letter, Mr. Salim asked officials to be assigned specifically for the task; daily progress monitored; senior officers from State-level offices be deployed to visit the respective districts; daily training (from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.) in virtual mode to be provided by the State Waqf Board, which could be attended from all offices across the State.