Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi along with Minister for Minority Affairs K Rahman Khan, on 29 January, inaugurated the National Waqf Development Corporation Limited (NAWADCO) in the national capital. Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister said the Corporation would undertake the job to develop the Waqf properties and safeguard it from adverse possession. The Corporation would use Waqf properties for the development and betterment of Muslim community. According to an estimate, Waqf Board is the third largest possessor of land in the country after Indian Railways and Indian Army and it has around 4.9 lakh registered properties to its credit. However, the annual income of the Board is around 163 crore which should have been 12000 crore annually.
Meanwhile, the ceremony was disrupted for a while when a social activist loudly opposed the government’s non-implementation of already existing schemes. He claimed that the existing schemes would suffice for Muslims if implemented in a proper way.