Author: Aurangzeb Naqshbandi
Publication: Hindustan Times
Date: November 14, 2008
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=70c21c5a-6c7d-4290-98ac-425be366dd93
The government has taken a serious note of
the Central Haj Committee's letter to the Indian consulate in Jeddah, seeking
five-star accommodation and separate facilities for its 100-member delegation,
comprising officials and their family members, during the pilgrimage.
The visit can set the Haj committee back by
Rs 8 crore. The government has questioned the committee's decision allowing
families with the officials at a time of economic downturn.
The external affairs ministry has sought the
list of officials, with their antecedents.
In a letter to the Consulate General of India
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Haj committee chief executive officer Mohammed Owais
sought separate accommodation, with better kitchen and toilet facilities,
for officials and their families "befitting their status" during
their stay in Mina. He said the delegation be provided five-star accommodation
in 'Markaziyah area' during its visit to Madinah Munawwarah and their transport
arrangements made.
A Haj committee official said it was a routine
practice and government money was not being used. "The Haj committee
does not use government money. It's customary to send a delegation, which
may include family members," he said. Despite repeated attempts, Owais
could not be contacted for comments.
"If the Haj committee is not using the
government money, then whose money is being wasted?" asked Dr Zafarul-Islam
Khan, head of All-India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat, an umbrella body of Indian
Muslim organisations.
"It's very unfortunate. The Haj committee
is overcharging the pilgrims and spending their money on fun trip," he
said.
The committee's move is in violation of a
government order, asking all ministries to cut down foreign and domestic travel
under the mandatory 10 per cent cut in the non-plan expenditure, sources said.
There was no need for huge delegations to
Saudi Arabia, Khan said. "The past experience shows that the Haj committee
officials pose problems to the Indian staff," he said.
