Hyderabad: Plea to fill vacant posts in minorities' welfare bodies

Hyderabad: Minorities in the State have demanded the TRS government to immediately fill vacant posts in all minorities' welfare institutions, which have been headless for a long time.

The institutions include TS Minorities Finance Corporation (TSMFC), TS State Haj Committee (TSHC), TS Urdu Academy (TSUA). They are functioning without heads. The TS State Wakf Board (TSWB) chairman's term is coming to an end. Along with all welfare departments the TS Minority Commission chairman's term also ended long back.

An important institution in the State, the Minority Finance Corporation, which helps the minorities to grow socio-economically, has been headless for more than a year. Since the chairman completed his term, no new incumbent has been appointed to oversee the welfare schemes and the department.

Several city activists have raised the issue of the institutions running without chairmen. They say that the TSMFC which is supposed to provide bank connected subsidies and other schemes to the minorities has been literally ineffective due to absence of chairman for the last several months.

"The minorities in the State are facing hardships. Schemes for the minorities include subsidy loans, education, scholarship reimbursement and self-employment, driver empowerment are existing only on paper. Those who have already applied for different schemes have been waiting since long for their files to move to utilise the schemes for the last two years," said Mohammed Asif Hussain Sohail, a social activist.

All the minority departments are now being run by an officer, Shahnawaz Qasim, who is director of Minority Welfare. "As all departments are being run with no chairperson, he is handling all minority welfare institutions as an additional charge," pointed out Hussain.

Hyderabad City Congress Committee (HCCC) Minorities department chairman Sameer Waliullah said Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has kept these posts vacant to bring their activities to a standstill. Although these posts are vacant for a long time, he took no steps to fill them. "This negligent attitude shows his lack of seriousness towards the welfare of minorities in Telangana."

He said the issue was raised during the last Assembly session. The CM gave an assurance that the vacant posts will be filled after Dasara and the Huzurabad Assembly by-election. Yet no decision was taken to fill the minority posts. He said the Haj-2022 season had begun. The entire operations were being handled in the absence of a full-fledged Haj Committee. There is an urgent need for the government to appoint its chairman and members," added Waliullah.

About the TS Wakf Board, Asif Hussain said its term will end in February 2022. He hoped the chairman's post would not be vacant, as other minority institutions. "All departments also lack gazette officers. As in the Wakf Board. hardly 5-6 officers are of gazetted rank. The remaining are non-gazetted due to which middlemen are benefited. The needy are facing hardships," he added.

Such major institutions must have gazetted officers to run the organisations smoothly. The government has to take a serious note on appointing chairpersons, directors and gazetted officers in all minority institutions," demanded the activists.