The minister of state for minority affairs announced plans to conduct a survey to identify minority concentration blocks for effective implementation of minority welfare schemes.
The minister of state for minority affairs Vincent H Pala on Thursday announced plans to conduct a survey to identify minority concentration blocks for effective implementation of minority welfare schemes. However, the data already exists on the website of the ministry.
Muslim leaders and NGOs, now believe the exercise was an attempt to delay the implementation of the multi-sectoral development plan (MSDP) and other minority-related schemes.
Pala told the Lok Sabha that the survey was being conducted to identify minority concentration blocks as recommended by the working group on ‘empowerment of minorities’.
Former Rajya Sabha member Ejaz Ali said the act smacked of conspiracy. “It seems that in the name of survey, the government is delaying the implementation of programmes. The schemes already lack transparency and accountability,” he said.
Hyderabad MP Asadudin Owasi, however, told DNA that he was giving the benefit of doubt to the minority affairs ministry. “We have been demanding the use of blocks as units rather than districts while allocating funds for past many years. Now that they have now agreed to it, I will give them the benefit of doubt on taking time to list blocks,” he said. He said he needs time to understand why the ministry wants to conduct its own survey.
Both, the cabinet minister Salman Khurshid and Pala, were unavailable for comments.
The use of blocks as units, instead of districts, was necessitated by the fact that although several states have a number of minority concentration blocks they do not have any minority concentrated district. This disqualified them from seeking any grant under the head.
States such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu don’t have any minority concentration district, but collectively there are 102 blocks in these states with 25 per cent or more minority population. According to the 2001 census, 922 blocks are spread in more than 90 districts which have a considerable minority population.
Ali said that while Pala had sighted the lack of data to make block as unit of planning, the website of his ministry carries the 2001 census. “May be it is not possible for the government to prepare such statistics on the basis of the 2011 census. Still there is no need to conduct a fresh survey. The government can use the 2001 data till the results of fresh census are available,” he said.
In the case of six states — Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Nagaland, Mizoram, Meghalaya and the Union territory of Lakshadweep, where the minority community is in majority, there is a proposal to identify blocks which have 15 percent or more population of the communities which are in minority in the region. That means the Hindus would be able to get benefits of minority schemes in these states, instead of Muslims and Christians.
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