West Bengal to implement Waqf Amendment Act; Mamata Banerjee had fiercely opposed this; Why sudden change of heart?

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government at the centre amended the Waqf Act in April this year. Several new provisions were added, which were strongly opposed by opposition parties and state governments ruled by them.

The Mamata government has issued guidelines

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had aggressively opposed this. She had stated on several occasions that she would not allow the amended law to be implemented in West Bengal. Now, her stance on this law has changed. The Mamata government has issued guidelines for implementing the Waqf Amendment Act 2025 in Bengal. A deadline has also been set for uploading Waqf properties to the central portal (umeedminority.gov.in). The state’s Minority Department has also released an 8-point program.

This law was passed by both houses of Parliament in April this year

After months of refusing to implement the Central Waqf Amendment Act, 2025, the West Bengal government has finally agreed to implement the law. According to officials, the state government has directed all districts to upload details of the state’s approximately 82,000 Waqf properties to the central portal before the December 5 deadline. This law was passed by both houses of Parliament in April this year. PB Salim, Secretary of the Minority Development Department of West Bengal, sent a letter to all district magistrates, urging them to upload information about Waqf properties in each district to umeedminority.gov.in within the stipulated time.

8 Directives from the Mamata Banerjee government regarding the Waqf Amendment Act, 2025

• Check the website (Umeed Portal) and familiarize yourself with it.
• Organize meetings/workshops involving the concerned Mutawallis, Imams, and Madrasa teachers to ensure they upload details to the central portal as soon as possible (a list of Mutawallis has been shared).
• Data entry will be done in two stages: first, OTP-based initial registration by individual Mutawallis, and second, registration of Waqf property details.
• Disputed Waqf properties (if any) do not need to be registered at this stage.
• Designate officers specifically for the task and monitor daily progress.
• Senior officials from state-level offices should be sent to visit their respective districts.
• Help desks have been set up in eight districts, and other districts can also set up similar help desks.
• The State Waqf Board will conduct virtual training every day from 2 pm to 4 pm, with participants from all offices across the state.