Apex court disapproves Haj subsidy

[1]

The Supreme Court on Tuesday came out against the government policy of providing subsidy to the pilgrims going for Haj to the holy city of Mecca.

An apex court bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam further directed the government to eliminate the subsidy for Haj pilgrims in the next ten years.

In another important direction, the court in its order said that a goodwill delegation sent by the government every year to Mecca will comprise only two members - its leader and the deputy leader.

At present, the goodwill delegation consists of 30 members.

The court has also sought details from the state-level Haj committees and the Haj Committee of India as to how subsidy is given and what is the total expenditure on it.