Under special quota, as many as 2,000 additional seats for Haj were allotted to Jammu and Kashmir this year

New Delhi, July 26: At least 2,000 additional seats have been allotted for Jammu and Kashmir for Haj this year as a special quota. This was said by Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Wednesday.

 

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said that Jammu and Kashmir have been allotted 2,000 additional seats for Haj this year as a special quota in line with the new formula of allocation of surplus seats generated by under-utilized quota of the states.

The Minister further stated that with the addition of 2,000 seats, a total of 10,062 seats have been allocated to Jammu and Kashmir for Haj 2018. “While in the year 2017, a total number of 7960 seats were allotted to Jammu and Kashmir for Haj,” he added.

Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi noted that the Haj quota allotted to the Haj Committee of India is distributed among all states and Union Territories in a proportion of their Muslim population as per the 2011 census.

While replying to another question about the number of seats reserved under discretionary quota, Minister Naqvi said, “As per the guidelines approved by the Supreme Court, in its 2012 order, the number of seats allocated on the recommendations of dignitaries were 100 seats -President, 75 seats -Vice President, 75 seats - Prime Minister, 50 seats - Ministry of External Affairs and 200 seats - the Haj Committee of India.”

“With the transfer of Haj Affairs from the MEA to the Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) from October 1, 2016, the seats reserved for the MEA are being allocated on the recommendation of MoMA,” he added.

To another question on seats allotted to private tour operators (PTOs), Naqvi said that a total of 46,323 seats have been allocated to 609 PTOs from across the country.