Law to protect Waqf properties in offing: Najma     

Bhopal: Union Minority Affairs Minister Najma Heptullah on Sunday said her ministry has drafted a bill to protect Waqf Board properties and it would soon be put before the Union Cabinet. “The bill has been readied,” Heptullah told reporters here. Asked about large-scale encroachment on Waqf properties in Bhopal, she said, “If the community members start protests under a public movement, I am ready to join them to free the Waqf properties from encroachments.” She said these lands can be freed through a ‘Gandhian’ movement. The Waqf Board has huge properties across India, spread over six lakh acres in all, the Union Minister said.-PTI