After eight years, Waqf Board resumes pension for widows

 The new chairman of the Board Amantullah Khan said that pensions for the widows, which was Rs 500 per month, was not being paid for the past eight years. 

“We have resumed payment of widow pensions and have raised the amount from Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 per month,” he said.

Khan said the pension for widows would be increased to Rs 1,500 from June.“At least Rs 50 per day will ensure that the beneficiary widows are able to manage their daily needs like food,” he said.

The Waqf Board chairman said that at present, 1,000 widows were being paid pensions. 

He said that Board was focusing on increasing its revenue so that such welfare and development measures for the community could be run smoothly.

The monthly income of the Delhi Waqf Board, which was around Rs 7-8 lakh, has now gone up to about Rs 1.25 crore.The daily rent collection had also increased to Rs 8-10 lakh, he said.

He said that one of the reasons for non-payment of pension was encroachment of the Waqf Board land. 

“A number of properties of the Waqf Board have been encroached upon, which need to be freed soon. I will ensure that these properties are developed and revenue is increased so that the welfare of Muslims living in Delhi could be taken up on an extensive scale,” he added.

Former Board chairman Chaudhary Mateen Ahmad said laws against encroachers should be tightened and employees of the Waqf Board should also be transferred to other departments to reduce on the level of connivance. In fact a total of 77 percent of the total land in the national Capital belongs to the Waqf Board.

A number of newspaper offices, mansions, schools, elite hotels, courts, markets and colleges have been built on the Waqf Board land.