LG okays appointment of waqf board’s CEO

New Delhi: Lieutenant governor VK Saxena on Saturday approved the appointment of IAS officer Azimul Haque as the chief executive officer in Delhi Waqf Board and accused AAP govt of "callousness" and treating the issue in a casual manner without following legal provisions.No immediate reaction was available from AAP govt.LG office said that the delay in appointing the CEO of Delhi Waqf Board resulted in non-payment of salaries of Imams and Mutawallis, while the board also became defunct. Officials said LG noted on the file that the post of the CEO was vacant since Nov 28, 2004, but the govt sent the proposal to give additional charge to an officer after a lapse of one month. "Due to this callousness on the part of the govt, the day-to-day functioning of the Board, like releasing salaries of Imams and other functionaries, was held up," said an official. "Keeping in view the hardship faced by Imams/Mutawalli, who are poor people suffering due to non-payment of salary in the absence of a CEO, I am approving the proposal. However, the proposal should be ratified by the Board before the appointment takes effect. Further, it is advised that in future the proposal should be sent for my consideration strictly as per provisions of law," LG added.Officials also claimed that the proposal was sent by the govt in a "casual" manner, without following the legal provisions. "As per Section 23 of Delhi Waqf Act, 1995, enacted by Parliament, a panel of two names should be suggested by the Board to the state govt for appointment as the CEO. However, the NCCSA has not placed on record the panel of names duly recommended by the Board, but submitted the name of a single officer, for my consideration, for assigning of the additional charge," LG further said.