The Indian government's plan to abolish the Haj airfare subsidy will not affect the number of pilgrims coming for Haj, Indian Consul General Faiz Ahmad Kidwai told the Saudi Gazette here, Thursday. He said 10 years ago the pilgrim quota was 80,000. Last year there were 400,000 applicants against a Haj Committee quota of 125,000, he said. The Indian government is planning to do away with the Haj subsidy given to pilgrims in the form of airfare. An announcement to this effect was made earlier this week by Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna. “There have been second thoughts even with reference to Haj. Haj reforms are taking place. We are eventually thinking of doing away with the subsidy,” Krishna was quoted as saying. “A committee headed by Hamid Ansari recommended phasing out the airfare subsidy and increasing the charge to pilgrims,” Kidwai said. Pilgrims applying through the Haj Committee of India get a concessionary airfare for the round trip to Saudi Arabia. Last year the average cost for the round trip was Rs45,000, but a pilgrim had to pay only Rs16,000, said the consul general. He said that the government bears the cost of the two empty trips a chartered Haj flight operates. A pilgrim coming through a private tour operator had to pay Rs26,000 for a round trip air ticket to Saudi Arabia last Haj. Kidwai said that airfare will automatically be reduced if the global tender for Haj charter flights becomes fully operational. At present Air India, Saudi Arabian Airlines and Nas Air operate Haj charter flights from India to the Kingdom. In February, the Supreme Court questioned the ethicality of providing such a subsidy for pilgrims from only one religious community. Indian Muslim leaders say that no one from the community had asked for a Haj subsidy. It was introduced in the early 1970s. In 2008, the Indian government paid Rs7.7 billion in Haj subsidies. __
