12th Five-Year Plan
Lucknow:
Sustained and concerted efforts to get the right size of financial pie towards development of Muslim community in the 12th Five-Year Plan has borne fruit. The efforts put in by Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi, chairman of the Strive for Eminence and Empowerment (SEE) and the members of the organization received rich encomiums at the SEE’s national conference on “12th Five-Year Plan and Minorities” on January 13 at the Ganna Sanstha auditorium.
Maulana Rahim, who is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Planning Commission, while delivering the keynote address at the conference called upon Muslims to keep track of each and every paisa which has been allocated for their welfare in the 12th Plan. He said the community was so far engaged only in reminiscing the ‘glorious past’.
Maulana Rahim pointed out that in the 11th Plan we mainly concentrated on Ministry of Minority Affairs (MOMA), wherein the community had three tasks viz. 1. To understand the plan and Process; 2. To understand the guideline, and 3. To understand the implementation mechanism. “Now, after being okayed by the National Development Council (NDC) on December 27, 2012, the 12th Five-Year Plan, the Prime Minister’s new 15-point Flagship Schemes, we will have only one task i.e. monitoring each and every paisa”, he added.
Talking about the 12th Plan which the Government claims to be a harbinger of faster growth and assures more inclusive and sustainable progress, Maulana Rahim pointed out that the total outlay for minority affairs has been hiked from Rs.7,283 crore in the 11th Plan to Rs.17,323 crore in the 12th Plan, an increase of 137.85 %. In the social services sector the total outlay has been increased from Rs.1,197,576 crore in the 11th Plan to Rs. 2,664,843 crore in the 12th Plan, a jump of 122.52%. Of this, 15% share or Rs. 399,726 crore has been earmarked for minorities. He said, of this allocation, a whopping Rs. 100,000 lakh crore has been allocated for the Uttar Pradesh Muslims under social services, Maulana Rahim stated.
Maulana Rahim pointed out that under specific interventions under PM’s 15-Point Programme, the 12th Plan provides for quality education. The document states that in order to provide the best quality education, the endeavour in the 12th Plan will be to set up one residential school along the lines of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya for the minorities. It will be established in a phased manner in minority concentration blocks and minority concentration towns/cities. It stipulates that at least 50% of the students in these schools will be from non-minority communities. Maulana Rahim lamented that in the just concluded 11th Plan, under the Indira Awas Yojana (IAY) only 2% of the targeted 15% houses were alloted to the minorities.
Nirmal Khatri, Member of Parliament and President Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC), presided over the conference, while Prakash Jaiswal, Union Coal Minister, was the chief guest. Dr. Rita Bahuguna Joshi, ex-president of UPCC; Zafar Ali Naqvi, Member of Parliament; Dr. Mohammad Muslim, MLA from Sultanpur; Akhtar Husain Akhtar; Masood Ahmad and Dr. Anees Ansari (Retd. IAS), were guests of honour on the occasion. Many important dignitaries, academicians, social activists, NGOs and delegates from all over India participated in the programme.
Speaking as chief guest, Prakash Jaiswal said the importance of education must be inculcated among Indian Muslims and they should be acquainted with the schemes brought out by the Union Government for their welfare so that they can derive maximum utilisation and thereby extricate themselves from the morass of illiteracy and poverty. He told the audience that it is their responsibility to make the government answerable by taking two steps and then ask it to take four steps. Jaiswal commended the services rendered by Maulana Fazlur Rahim Mujaddidi through his Jameatul Hidaya at Jaipur by blending the religious, secular and technical education.
Three books related to the 12th Plan brought by SEE were released on the occasion. At the end of the National Conference three resolutions were unanimously adopted. The resolutions which were passed are:-
(i) The Union Ministries concerned with the tasks should immediately make public the Action Taken Report. The first year of the 12th Five-Year plan (i.e., 2012) is already over. Therefore it is proposed that concerned Ministries are requested to prepare an implementation Schedule for 12th Plan.
(ii) Though, the Scholarship Scheme has been made Demand-driven in the 12th Plan but the financial outlay will not be sufficient for the financial needs to make it Demand Driven. Therefore, it is proposed that the Scholarship outlay should be increased and matched as per recommendations of the Working Group (Ministry of Minority Affairs) and Steering Committee (Planning Commission) proposal. Further, the guidelines should also be amended according to the proposal.
(iii) The 12th Plan has introduced three new Schemes viz. (a) Educational Infrastructure for 100 MCTs, (Minority Concentrated Towns); (b) Scholarship for Civil Services Exams, and (c) Appointment of Welfare Officer in MCDs (Minority Concentrated Districts). These schemes are yet to be launched. It is proposed that these schemes should be launched immediately. (TCN story reworded)
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