Minorities to petition PM

Representatives seek review of welfare schemes

A minority community representative addresses the meet in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections Guwahati, June 21 : The recognised minority communities have decided to seek a review of the manner in which the Rs 703 crore sanctioned under the Prime Minister’s 15-point programme for the welfare of minorities in 13 districts of Assam was being spent. A meeting, convened by the Char Chapori Sahitya Parishad, a socio-economic literary organisation, today to discuss the shortcomings in the implementation of the programme, decided to petition chief minister Tarun Gogoi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and the National Minorities Commission in this regard. The meeting was attended by representatives of the communities recognised as minorities this afternoon. Fearing that the funds sanctioned for the programme would go down the drain because of Dispur’s “whimsical and faulty” implementation, the meeting also decided to float a 21-member pressure group, the Parishad’s president Hafiz Ahmed and secretary Anowar Husain said. The pressure group will meet on June 28 to firm up a plan to ensure proper execution of the programme in the 13 districts which have a sizeable minority population. The Parishad, which works for the development of minorities and promotion of Assamese culture, language and literature in the char areas, wants the programme to benefit all the recognised minorities like Sikhs, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Jains and Parsis. Ahmed and Husain alleged that the multi-sectoral plans chalked out at the district level were “faulty and whimsical” and prepared in violation of the guidelines that stipulate that the schemes should cover areas with 25 per cent minority population. Ahmed said instead of laying stress on distributing shallow tubewells in Goalpara and Barpeta, priority should be accorded to development of health and education in the two districts. He also alleged that the tubewells had been brought at exorbitant prices. Ahmed said a 100-bed hospital was being set up at Samaguri in Nagaon, which had virtually no minority population, while the minority-dominated Mandia block in Barpeta had only one primary health centre. He said a water supply project had been installed in the Sankardev Nagar market area of Hojai where there was no minority population. Urban areas had been totally excluded from the programme, he alleged. Husain welcomed the welfare schemes but said the manner in which they were being implemented would not benefit the minorities. “Therefore, we seek an immediate review of the schemes,” he added. Ahmed said they would want the programmes to focus mainly on rehabilitating riot victims, checking erosion, improving education and healthcare and equitable distribution of funds in urban and rural areas.