Wakf Board to finally get more staff
NEWDELHI: The Delhi Wakf Board (DWB), which is the custodian of around 2,000 properties including heritage buildings such as the Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid in Delhi, is finally on way to reinventing itself to save its properties from degeneration.
The board has mooted a proposal to increase its staff strength and restructuring by engaging experts to improve its functioning and for appropriate supervision of thousands of properties.
At present, the board has 40 employees against sanctioned strength of 64. Most of them are engaged in administrative job and there is no expert such as conservationist, archaeologist, structural safety professional, and enforcement staff to take care of ancient buildings.
“The board, with 40 odd staff, has responsibility maintenance of about 2,000 properties. Most of the officials are engaged in administrative work and also serve as field officers. They lack the expertise for complex jobs like ascertaining damage to properties or restoration of buildings of historical importance,” said a senior government official, who is aware of the proposal.
The DWB owns 1,977 registered properties worth crores of rupees including 400 notified heritage structures. The list of DWB properties encompasses 827 mosques, about 480 graveyards, over 300 darghas and 358 other properties including baolis, residential units, schools, and shops.
However, several edifices are in the process of disintegration due to lack of maintenance and widespread encroachment.
Majority of notified heritage structures under DWB’S jurisdiction are mosques and tombs. Several date back to pre-mughal period — around 500 years old.
“A majority of the board’s work is related to revenue and land, however, the DWB doesn’t have a dedicated revenue official. Some posts have been vacant for years. For proper upkeep of records and properties, DWB requires proper trained staff, hence a proposal for its restructuring and to recruit adequate number of workforce has been sent to administrative reforms department for formal approval,” said the official.
Mufti Mukarram Ahmed, an Islamic scholar, who is also an imam at Fatehpuri Masjid, termed the DWB’S proposal a good start, but condemned the board for its “poor functioning” and “indecisive” approach.
“The new proposal is positive beginning but the board is incapable of executing any plan. They are aware about the dilapidated state of Fatehpuri mosque yet they can’t do anything. The board is incompetent and does not arrangement for sufficient funds,” Ahmed said. He suggested the board should also develop a mechanism for effective execution of a plan.
GC Saxena, former bureaucrat and heritage expert, said it is imperative to restructure the board and have adequate staff to keep properties free from squatters. “Shortage of staff results into encroachment. They can’t act against encroachers due to absence of enforcement staff. I suggest that the board should indentify properties which can be turned into small lodges — bed and breakfast — after conservation. This would not only create revenue but help to keep heritage intact,” said Saxena. Number of sanctioned strength Number of vacant posts Fatehpuri Masjid. Jama Masjid; Fatehpuri mosque; Nili Masjid (in Hauz Khas); shrine of Chirag-e-dilli; Khawaja Bakhtiyar Kaki dargah; Bagh-e-bedil (tomb of Persian poet Mirza Abdul Qadir Bedil near opposite Pragati Maidan); mausoleum of Roshan Ara; mosques and graveyard at Shah Mardan in Jorbagh; tomb of Ghaziuddin Khan Feroze Jung, a noble during Aurangzeb’s rule; a nameless mosque in Anglo Arabic Senior Secondary School at Ajmeri Gate; and several unnamed tombs and mosques in Mehrauli Archeological Park