<p>A high-powered committee recommended the distribution of quota between the Haj Committee of India and Private Tour Operators to be rationalised in the ratio of 70:30 for the next 5 years of Haj pilgrimage.<br /><br />The committee on Saturday presented the report to Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Mumbai.<br /><br />The members of the committee were Afzal Amanullah, former secretary to the Government of India as convenor; Justice S S Parkar, retired Judge of the Bombay High Court; Qaiser Shamim, former IRS officer and former chairman, Haj Committee of India and Kamal Faruqui, noted chartered accountant and Islamic scholar.<br /><br />Joint Secretary J Alam, in-charge of Haj, Ministry of Minority Affairs was the member secretary of the committee.<br /><br />Another vital recommendation was that the seats among the states/Union Territories be distributed in the ratio of their Muslim population as well as in proportion to the number of applications received.<br /><br />It also recommended that the special quota for Jammu & Kashmir be increased from 1,500 to 2,000.<br /><br />States and Union territories receiving less than 500 applications to get priority in distribution of surplus seats. This will benefit Union territories like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Puducherry, as well as smaller states like Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.</p>
<p>A high-powered committee recommended the distribution of quota between the Haj Committee of India and Private Tour Operators to be rationalised in the ratio of 70:30 for the next 5 years of Haj pilgrimage.<br /><br />The committee on Saturday presented the report to Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi in Mumbai.<br /><br />The members of the committee were Afzal Amanullah, former secretary to the Government of India as convenor; Justice S S Parkar, retired Judge of the Bombay High Court; Qaiser Shamim, former IRS officer and former chairman, Haj Committee of India and Kamal Faruqui, noted chartered accountant and Islamic scholar.<br /><br />Joint Secretary J Alam, in-charge of Haj, Ministry of Minority Affairs was the member secretary of the committee.<br /><br />Another vital recommendation was that the seats among the states/Union Territories be distributed in the ratio of their Muslim population as well as in proportion to the number of applications received.<br /><br />It also recommended that the special quota for Jammu & Kashmir be increased from 1,500 to 2,000.<br /><br />States and Union territories receiving less than 500 applications to get priority in distribution of surplus seats. This will benefit Union territories like Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu and Puducherry, as well as smaller states like Chhattisgarh, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.</p>
