Minorities welfare dept understaffed

Govt has not yet approved cadre strength for any of the 14 organisations under the dept

The shortage of employees is one of the main reasons for the malfunctioning of the various organisations under the minorities welfare department. The government has not approved cadre strength for any organisation, resulting in most of the employees engaged under consolidation or hired on contracts.

Fourteen minority organisations function under the minorities welfare department: Directorate of minorities welfare, Minorities

Commission, Wakf Board, Minorities Residential Educational Institutions (TMREIS), Minorities Finance Corporation, Urdu Academy, Haj Committee, Christians Minority Finance Corporation, Commissioner, Survey of Auqaf, Dairatulil Maarif-ilOsmania, Centre for Educational Development of minorities (CEDM), Study Circle, Macca Masjid and Shahi Masjid.

Although the Commissioner, Survey of Auqaf, physically exists, the temporarily sanctioned posts have vanished in 2018. Only one peon protects documents worth crores of rupees of Wakf properties.

Before 2018, Asadullah, an officer of the revenue department, presently working as PS to the home minister, was given full additional charge of the Commissioner, Survey of Auqaf, till further orders. The works of the second survey of Wakf properties could not be completed in the last 20 years.

The Wakf Board, running with a shortage of staff for many years, has been requesting the government to authorise it to appoint staff since the formation of the state as 60 per cent of its employees have been allocated to Andhra Pradesh. It needs about 400 additional staff to ensure smooth functioning due to additional work of digitisation of records and reconciliation of records with the records of the new revenue survey.

Not a single organisation has a regular officer to supervise it. Only a few officers derived on deputation from other departments are looking after more than one organisation.

B.S. Shafiullah, an IFS officer, is monitoring the

TMRIES and Haj Committee, while the director, minorities welfare, Shahnawaz Qasim, an IPS officer, is holding additional charge of Study Circle. Likewise, Mohammed Qasim is functioning as CEO, Wakf Board. The government nominated Shafiullah as secretary of TMREIS four years ago on deputation. That period ended on July 31 and a file for further extension is pending with the government. Dr Mohammed Ghouse, a lecturer, is acting as secretary, Urdu Academy on deputation.

Notwithstanding the government sanctioning a hefty budget of ` 1,518 crore for the department, there have been no substantial hires. The government can afford to neglect the development of minorities and their plight for economic and political reasons but it cannot afford to ignore the loss of public funds. Due to poor monitoring, the public fund has been misused by the organisations.

The post of director, Dairatulil Maarif-ilOsmania, is vacant for a year now. The registrar of Osmania University is officially in-charge of the institution.

A retired DSP has been appointed superintendent of the Mecca masjid, while the file of extension of manager of Shahi masjid is pending for almost one year. A.H.N. Kanthi Wesley holds additional charge of the Christian Minorities Finance Corporation. There is also a shortage of staff there.

The minorities welfare department is responsible for fostering the socio-economic and educational development of minorities and protecting the rights of minorities.