Imams affiliated to Delhi Wakf Board not getting salaries: Sources

Delhi Wakf Board (DWB) affiliated mosque's Imam and thousands of widows are not getting their salary and widow's pensions since past three months as the board has become completely defunctional, when former lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung had dissolved it and set up a CBI inquiry in October last year.

According to DWB source, almost 350 old mosques are registered under Delhi Wakf Board while, more than 300 mosques Imam and Moazines get monthly salary from it.

On October 7 last year , the L-G declared the reconstitution of the board and announced the appointment of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and members as illegal and void ab initio, superseded as per procedure, and that it would be administered by a special secretary-level bureaucrat through an additional charge. The appointments in question were made by the AAP's Okhla MLA Amantullah Khan.

The Raj Niwas has referred the "whole matter related to the Wakf Board" to the CBI for a probe and Delhi environment and forest special Secretary S M Ali had been given the additional Charge of the Board till further orders. The CBI could not get any financial irregularities in the Wakf Board, said Delhi government sources.

During the past 11 months, the Wakf board is getting bad to worse in context of Widow's Pension as well as Imam Salaries. Some members said that after the Imams and widows got their dues just before Eid in June ,2017. The Board could not disburse salary of Imams and widows pensions

Those widows are registered under Wakf Board and get Rs 1,200 per month while, a mosque's Imam get Rs 10,000 per month.

Newly appointed Delhi Minority Commission's Chairman Zaffarul Islam Khan also expressed his anguished over DWB's dissolution as DDA and local bodies are claiming over Wakf properties.

According to Delhi government's revenue department official , AAP government is seriously planning to reconstitute Wakf Baord and the revenue department has sought details of Muslims legislator from Delhi government and Parliament. Only Perwaze Hashmi is one Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi, while there are four MLAs in AAP government.