National Minorities panel Vice Chairman asks Pondy govt to constitute Wakf Board without delay

National Commission forMinorities Vice Chairman Atif Rasheed on Tuesday urged thePuducherry government to constitute a Wakf Board and a HajCommittee at the earliest, besides a commission for minoritieshere.

Rasheed, who was on a two-day visit to the unionterritory, told mediapersons he hadreceived complaints fromthe minorities in Puducherry that there was no Wakf Board forthe last 15 years.

The Minorities panel Vice Chairman, who is also anofficiating chairman of the Commission now, said he hadsuggested during his discussions with Lt Governor Kiran Bediand Chief Secretary Ashwani Kumar earlier to constitute aminorities commissionand a Haj committee.

He said the Wakf Board could be set up with 'geomapping and GPS systems to safeguard Wakf properties.

Rasheed said the Lt Governor had assured him that theBoard would be set up as soon as possible.

He said representatives of minority communities herewhom he had met, expressed their ''full satisfaction withthe schemes of the Central government particularly inextending scholarships for educational advancementparticularly of girls.'' He appealed to state governmentsto make use of thecentrally-sponsored Pradhan MantriJan Vikas Karyakaram(PMJVK) programme, a project of the Ministry, which would helpestablish infrastructure.PTI Cor SSPTI PTI