By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
New Delhi: A Delhi Wakf Board tribunal gave its nod to an increase in salaries for imams appointed by the Wakf Board on 22nd April, finalizing the case filed by All India Organization of Imams of Mosques for reasonable remuneration to imams.
Organization president Maulana Jameel Ahmed Ilyasi will now approach the Supreme Court again so that the Board could be asked about the basis of payment of dues to imams. Maulana Ilyasi, as president of the organization, has been fighting a legal battle in the Supreme Court since 1988 to increase salaries of the imams. The Supreme Court in 1993 had decided that the salaries of the imams should be increased on the pattern of increment given to imams of Punjab Wakf Board. But the Delhi Wakf Board did not implement the order, saying this payment was not possible because of low income of the Board. All chairmen of the Board have since rejected increase in imams’ salaries on the ground of low income of the Board. However, the issue of the increment could be settled in January 2005 under the chairmanship of Chowdhary Mateen.
According to schedule of increased salaries, Alim will get a monthly salary of Rs 3,000, Hafiz Rs 2,800, Nazirah readers Rs 2,700 and Mu’azzin Rs 1,900. The payment of dues started in March 2007. According to Maulana Ilyasi, dues are to be paid to about 225 imams in Delhi alone, of which 56 have already been paid. However, he is not satisfied with the increase. He says remuneration to imams is still meager. He said his battle has not ended. Recently he had a meeting with president of Delhi State Congress Party Jai Prakash Aggarwal and in charge of U.P. and Delhi Congress Ashok Gahlot in connection with further increase in the salary of imams.