Government reviews minority welfare schemes

Union Minority Affairs Minister K.Rahman Khan Monday emphasized on the effective implementation of the prime minister's special plans for minorities at a review conference here.

He was speaking while chairing a one-day conference of principal secretaries and secretaries of states and union territories to review the implementation of the prime minister's New 15 Point Programme and Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP), said an official statement.

The minister said there is some positive impact of the schemes on the ground, noting that from 2006-07 to 2012-13, more than 33,000 new primary and upper primary schools have been opened in districts with substantial minority population under the 15 Point Programme.

In the same period, about 23,800 primary and upper primary schools were constructed and 555 new Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas were sanctioned in such districts.

Further, more than 22 lakh cheap houses have been constructed for minorities under the 15 Point Programme during this period.

Khan said under the MsDP, projects worth about Rs.6,000 crore have been sanctioned and Rs.4,272 crore has been released to the states from the inception of the programme in 2008 till September 2013 to create socio-economic infrastructure and provide basic amenities in minority concentration areas.

More than 700 school buildings, 18,000 class rooms and 562 hostels for boys and girls have been taken up for minorities under MsDP, he said.

Further, 113 ITIs and 44 polytechnics have also been taken up under this programme, he added.