Bill to make Wakf Act more stringent passed

New Delhi: A Bill providing stringent penal provisions for encroachment of Wakf properties was passed by Lok Sabha on Friday, the last day of the Budget session. The Bill, which seeks to amend certain provisions of the Wakf Act 1995, addresses issues like encroachment of Wakf properties, indadequacy of data on Wakf properties and gives more teeth to the Central Wakf Council and Wakf Boards and also streamlines the process for removal of encroachments. The legislation also seeks to reduce the scope of alienation of Wakf properties by prohibiting their sale and gift.

—Santosh K. Joy

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CPM plenum to be held from 7 to 10 August

New Delhi: The central committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPM has decided to hold its extended meeting or ‘plenum’ from 7 to 10 August. At the end of its three-day meet, the central committee—the party’s apex decision making body—worked out the schedule for the preparations for this extended meeting at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. A ‘plenum’ is a rare meeting of its senior leaders. During this meet, the party is expected to prepare for next year’s assembly elections in West Bengal and Kerala.

—Ruhi Tewari