Hyderabad: Congress MLC seeks 12% budget allocation for Muslims

Hyderabad: Congress MLC T Jeevan Reddy on Tuesday demanded the government to provide 12 per cent of budgetary allocation to Muslim minorities in Telangana. Participating in a discussion on the minority welfare, Reddy said Muslims got four per cent reservation in education and employment since the time of United AP. After the formation of Telangana, the government had proposed to provide 12 per cent reservation to Muslims. However, it could not happen due to 'non-cooperation of the Centre'.

But there is nothing that stops the State to allocate 12 per cent funds to Muslims and spend it on their welfare. He reminded the government promise to bring a separate Minorities Sub-plan.

Reddy said the Sudhir Committee to study status of minorities had presented a 60-page report, but the government had not acted on it. He pointed out. that Muslims and Christians have shifted to urban areas as they have no considerable presence in rural agriculture sector. "Because of lack of encouragement to those who shifted to urban areas, he said, Muslims have been finding their livelihood as auto drivers, mechanics, street, fruit and tea vendors.

Against this background, he said, the government has been spending crores to provide livelihoods rolling out schemes like fisheries, dairy farms. But there are no such separate schemes to create livelihoods for Muslims, he said. Reddy asked the government as to how many Muslims have been working in IT industry. "Not even 10 per cent Muslims are getting benefit from all the welfare schemes being rolled out by the government", he said.

Based on their population, he asked the government to allocate Rs 10,000 crore annually for Muslim minority welfare to create self-employment; to allocate 25 per cent in housing scheme implemented in urban areas. The MLC called for protection of Wakf properties. For this, he asked the government to provide judicial powers to the Wakf Board to empower it to restore Wakf lands.

He asked the government to increase the monthly honorarium from Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 to Muslim and Christian priests; to, reactivate the Urdu Academy and the computer centres run by it.

Reddy questioned the government for not implementing the PRC to employees of the Minority Welfare department and the Urdu Academy. He demanded to de-reserve the SC, ST and BC quota in filling the Urdu teacher posts. "People from the reserved categories are not available resulting in posts remaining vacant. Hence, the posts should be de-reserved and filled with open category candidates, he said.