KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal has directed district magistrates (DMs) across the state to upload details of Waqf properties to the Central Government’s Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development (UMEED) portal.

The state minority affairs and madrasa education department has sent the directive to the DMs at a time when some officials in the department felt that the exercise was a “time-bound compliance requirement” set by the Centre.

The Centre has asked states to upload information on all “undisputed” Waqf properties by 6 December, prompting the state administration to begin the data-entry process immediately, according to officials.

“The directive sent to DMs lists four primary issues. They have been asked to convene meetings with imams, muezzins (those who give the call to prayer) and madrasa teachers to explain the uploading procedure,” one of the officials said.

The DMs have been told that only uncontested properties are to be entered in the portal, he added. All districts have been asked to set up facilitation centres wherever technical support is necessary, the official added.

Earlier this year, the Central Government amended several provisions of the Waqf Act, 1995. While some of these amendments remain under consideration before the Supreme Court, a senior state government official pointed out that “there is no stay on the implementation of the Centre’s proposed changes”.

The state is obliged to follow the directive within the given timeframe, he said. Under the amended rules, mutawallis (caretakers of a waqf) of 8,063 Waqf estates in Bengal must register complete property details on the UMEED portal by 6 December, he elaborated.