The Union External Affairs Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee today said that the Government has constituted two Committees, namely an Expert Group on Haj to recommend ways and means to make further improvements in management of Haj pilgrims from India and another Committee to study measures to look into the reforms of the existing system of management of Haj pilgrimage and prepare an appropriate and viable model for Haj Management. Both the Committees have held several rounds of discussions and their recommendations will help the Government in further improving Haj Management, Shri Mukherjee said. He was delivering the inaugural address at the All India annual Conference for Haj 2007, here.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Mukherjee said, “I take this opportunity to flag an important area of concern that is proving as a bottle-neck to streamlining Haj Management in India. This is the delay in the formation of State Haj Committees by some States in accordance with the provisions of the Haj Committee Act 2002. I would like to urge all those States who have so far not constituted their State Haj Committees to do so expeditiously.�
The following is the text of the address of Shri Pranab Mukherjee, delivered on the occasion: “At the outset, I express my gratitude for organizing this programme. My colleague, Shri Ahmed was to come but he could not come due to injury to his leg. I am very glad to be with you all this morning to inaugurate the All India Annual Haj Conference. At the outset, I would like to compliment and congratulate the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the arrangements made for the last Haj and for its successful completion. As you know, acceding to our request, they increased our quota by 10,000. I would also like to commend the efforts made by the Haj Committee of India, the Indian Missions in Saudi Arabia, the Airline companies and all other individuals and agencies for their contribution in the smooth and successful organization of Haj pilgrimage and the arrangements made for the last Haj.
It is a matter of great pride for us that one of the largest contingent of Haj pilgrims in the world goes from India. I am glad to learn that over 1,50,000 Indian pilgrims performed the Haj last year, which is an all-time record. Indeed, under the UPA Government the pilgrim quota has been considerably increased during the last three years. In this connection, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for acceding to the request made by the Government of India for enhancement of our quota.
For millions of Muslims all over the world, and India is no exception, pilgrimage to the Holy places of Makkah and Madinah is a cherished life-long dream and the Government of India is committed to ensure that the best possible arrangements are put in place for the comfort and well being of Indian pilgrims. The External Affairs Ministry under the guidance of my colleague Shri E. Ahamed has put in dedicated effort in bringing about perceptible improvements in Haj management during the last three years. I congratulate him, his colleagues and senior officers.
It is indeed heartening to note that our Haj Mission is working hard to fulfill the mandate given to it of serving the Hajis and taking care of their needs and requirements during their stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I am happy to note that our Haj Mission in Saudi Arabia has been conferred with the ISO 9001 certification.
The Government would continue to depute in sufficient numbers, administrative, para-medical and medical personnel to look after and assist the Indian pilgrims during their stay in Saudi Arabia. Sufficient medicines and other critical medical equipment would also be made available to our doctors for helping the Indian pilgrims. We are constantly striving to bring in improvements and deal with constraints if any relating to manpower and logistics and to provide our Haj Mission in Jeddah with trained personnel as required including IT professionals.
The Government is also making all efforts to ensure that private tour operators who take pilgrims to Haj provide proper services and facilities for the pilgrims. These pilgrims also benefit from the arrangements, for medical and general assistance, put in place by the Haj Mission in Jeddah.
I am happy to learn that the Haj Committee of India has plans for the computerization of the Haj arrangements by linking all the State Haj Committees through a wide area network. The use of Information Technology in Haj Management would significantly improve the speed and efficiency of the services rendered to pilgrims. Pilgrim data is already computerized by the Consulate in Jeddah and can be accessed through the Consulate’s website.
The Haj Committee of India organises regular orientation/training programmes at the State and District level for providing the pilgrims knowledge of instructions and guidelines to enable them to perform their pilgrimage in a proper manner. I am glad that the first training of trainers camp has already been held yesterday in New Delhi. In this connection, I can assure your Excellency that when you mentioned last time that our pilgrims require training, this training is a step in this direction.
The Government ensures that satisfactory arrangements have been made to facilitate the travel of the Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia through the 15 embarkation points in India to Jeddah and Madinah. Both Air India and Saudi Arabian Airlines have rendered service to the pilgrims in this effort. I would like to assure this gathering that the Government’s objective is to bring about constant improvements and innovations in our Haj Management, both in India as well in Saudi Arabia.
You would be happy to know that the Government has constituted two Committees i.e. an Expert Group on Haj to recommend ways and means to make further improvements in our Haj management and another Committee to study measures to look into the reforms of the existing system of management of Haj pilgrimage and prepare an appropriate and viable model for Haj Management. Both the Committees have held several rounds of discussions and their recommendations will help the Government in further improving Haj Management.
Friends, the Annual Haj Conference is a very important event in Haj management as the participants jointly introspect, review and deliberate upon the experiences of the previous Haj. They also discuss inadequacies and short-comings, if any, and suggest ways and means for ensuring better arrangements in the following year. I am sure that this Conference would also provide a very strong platform to achieve the common objective of making the best possible arrangements for Indian Hajis.
As welfare and well-being of Haj pilgrims has always been a matter of utmost concern for the Government, I would urge the participants here to give high priority to the training and orientation of prospective Haj pilgrims so that our pilgrims are able to perform their holy rituals in a proper and safe manner. I take this opportunity to flag an important area of concern that is proving as a bottle-neck to streamlining Haj Management in India. This is the delay in the formation of State Haj Committees by some States in accordance with the provisions of the Haj Committee Act 2002. I would like to urge all those States who have so far not constituted their State Haj Committees to do so expeditiously.
As part of the preparations for Haj 2007, a composite delegation of senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Air India and the Haj Committee of India, has already met in Jeddah in March 2007 and gave final touches to the plans for next Haj. The discussions by the Composite delegation also included means to find better accommodation at affordable costs for our pilgrims. Based on our past experience in hiring accommodation it has been decided to rationalize parameters and rates for the accommodation. Discussions have also been held to plan air transport arrangements. Shri E. Ahamed, MOS, would also be visiting Saudi Arabia later this month to meet with the Saudi Minister for Haj and to conclude the formal agreements for Haj 2007.
As improvement in Haj Management is a continuous process, I, on behalf of Government of India, would like to assure you that we would very carefully consider all suggestions that would emerge from the deliberations of this Conference and try to implement them wherever feasible in the overall interest of our pilgrims. I extend my best wishes for a very successful All India Haj Conference.�