Minority Coordination Committee seeks justice, substantial release of money
Abdul Hafiz Lakhani l Clarion India
AHMEDABAD — Gujarat’s civil rights organisation, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), regretted on Monday that the state government has, in its annual budget for 2020-21 presented in the state assembly last week, allocated a meagre amount for minority welfare. This was just about 0.066 per cent of the total allocations, even though they formed 11.5 per cent of the state’s population.
Of the total budget of Rs 2,17,000 crore, there was an allocation of Rs 101.35 crore for social services for the minorities, Rs 1.51 crore as capital account for social service, and Rs 1.50 crore as loan amount for the Gujarat Minorities Finance and Development Corporation, apart from some other minor allocations.
In a letter to Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani, the MCC sought an allocation of Rs 8,320 crore for the minorities. The letter, signed by its convener Mujahid Nafees, sought a fund of Rs 1,000 crore for creation of a new minority affairs department and Rs 250 crore for a new state commission for the minorities.
This apart, MCC said, Rs 1,500 crore should be allocated for the Multi-Sectorial Development Programme (MsDP) for the minorities, Rs 2,000 crore for education, empowerment, skill development and livelihood and other special programmes for the minorities, and Rs 1,500 crore as special financial package for their overall uplift.
MCC said Gujarat’s minority population included Muslims of 9.7 per cent, Jains of 1.0 per cent, Christians 0.5 per cent, Buddhists 0.1 per cent and others 0.1 per cent.
