THE Senate Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and
Interfaith Harmony on Thursday expressed serious concern over the proposed increase of Rs 115, 000 in the government Hajj scheme package for 2020. It directed the Religious Affairs Ministry to justify the cost hike in the next meeting to avoid its rejection.
According to the Secretary of the Ministry, per intending pilgrim package for the northern region will cost Rs 550,000 while it will be Rs 545,000 for the southern region. He justified the proposed increase on the plea of depreciation of rupee and increase in air-fare. There have been upward revisions in Hajj expenditure from time to time but these did not pinch much to the intending pilgrims. The Hajj Package for 2018 was just Rs 270,000 which was increased to Rs 436,975 for 2019 and now it is further being enhanced to Rs 550,000 — over hundred per cent increase as against 2018. The arguments offered by the Secretary for adding Rs 115,000 to the expenditure are unconvincing as rupee remained almost stable since last Hajj and there was also no justification to accept any proposal for increase in air-fare. The increase is also intriguing when seen in the backdrop of refund of up to Rs 50,000 given to pilgrims in 2019 which showed that even then the authorities charged more than actual expenditure. This much increase in the package would effectively deprive majority of intending pilgrims from undertaking the journey to the holy land. Instead of increasing the cost of the package, the authorities should ponder over ways and means to bring it down even from the level of last year.
