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Not a single Buddhist temple exists in Haryana: Minorities panel
National commission for minorities member said during the meeting with religious leaders of state the demands for construction of a Buddhist temple in Haryana was also raised
Asking the Haryana government to set up a state minority commission, national commission for minorities member Syed Shahezadi on Thursday said about 35 lakh people of minority communities live in Haryana where not a single Buddhist temple exists.
“A letter will be written to the Haryana government for setting up a state minority commission having one representative from each minority community,” said Shahezadi, addressing a news conference after wrapping a two-day visit to Haryana during which she met state government officials, representatives of minority communities and religious leaders.
Stating that a district minority welfare officer should be appointed in all the districts, she said during the meeting with religious leaders of the state the demands for the construction of a Buddhist temple in Haryana were also raised.
“I will ask the state government to consider this request...not a single Buddhist temple is in Haryana,” she said, pointing out that as per the 2011 census, the total population of minorities in Haryana is about 35 lakh.
The member of the national commission for minorities said during the review meeting with chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal and officers of the departments concerned, the progress of the schemes being run under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram was also discussed.
Underlining the need of creating awareness among the people about central schemes, she said that all the schemes being run by the Centre and state governments for the minorities should reach the actual beneficiaries. “The state government should run an extensive awareness programme. The schemes being run by the Centre and state government for the welfare of the minorities should be compiled in the form of a booklet and the same should be made available to the targeted readers,” she said.
“I have asked the chief secretary to ensure that the six constitutionally certified minorities should not face any difficulty in getting the minority certificates,” Shahezadi said, adding under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram, a total of 3,358 projects have been approved for Haryana. The total cost of these projects is ₹23 crore, of which the Centre has a share of ₹15.29 crore.
She further said that three scholarship schemes are being run in Haryana for minority students and that ₹20.47 crore has been given to 57,761 students under the pre-matric scholarship scheme.
Similarly, ₹22.17 crore has been given to 33,483 students under the post-matric scholarship scheme while ₹21.79 crore has been given to 8,133 students under merit-cum-means scholarship scheme.
She said 21 ITIs are currently running in Haryana for imparting skill development to students belonging to minorities, while five ITIs are under construction in various districts.
