Govt Haj subsidy to continue, but will be limit to 'once in a lifetime'

New Delhi : In an important decision, the government has decided to go ahead with theHaj subsidy despite demands from certain quarters, including some Muslimgroups, that this subsidy be done away with as it is "unislamic". But the government has told the Supreme Court that it is going to restrict the number of Haj pilgrimages through the Haj Committee of India to "once in a lifetime" as against the existing "once in five years", in an effort to provide the benefit of subsidy to those applicants who have never performed the Haj.

As many as 1.70 lakh pilgrims from India would perform Haj this year as per the quota received from the government of Saudi Arabia. While around 1.25 lakh of them would be travelling through the statutory Haj Committee, the remaining 45,000 would be using the services of private tour operators.

While the number of pilgrims has increased from 21,035 in 1994 to 1.25 lakh in 2011, the subsidy amount per pilgrims has also shot up from Rs 5,000 in 1994 to Rs 38,800 in 2011.

Last year, the Haj Committee had received over three lakh applications for the pilgrimage. The seats were distributed among the states and Union territories on the basis of the Muslim population registered in the 2001 census. As the number of applicants exceeded the allowed number of pilgrims, a draw of lots had been held to select the lucky ones.

Besides, the government had reserved 11,000 seats for different categories of quota, including pilgrims recommended by dignitaries and eminent persons.

Short validity passport for Haj pilgrims

People who want to go on Haj but lack proper travel documents can now breathe easy as they will have the facility of a speedy short validity passport.

"The Ministry of External Affairs has issued instructions to all Regional Passport Officers in the country to issue a short validity passport to Haj pilgrims pending receipt of police verification report," the Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

Last Date Extended

To enable pilgrims to obtain passport, the Haj Committee has decided to extend the last date for submission of Haj application forms from April 16 to April 25.

Compiled By: Dr Afaaque Lanka