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| - Fact Check: Haj subsidy DID NOT exceed Chandrayaan-3's budget, was scrapped 5 years ago
The 2011 budget for Haj subsidies was falsely compared with the estimated budget of Chandrayaan-3 by many on social media.
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India Today Fact Check
The government of India ended subsidies for Haj in 2018. Several schemes by many state governments provide financial assistance for Hindu pilgrims.
The cost of India’s much-celebrated third lunar mission, Chandrayaan-3, is now being compared with the purported budget for the subsidy given to Haj pilgrims on social media.
Chandrayaan-3, according to ISRO, was built on a budget of around Rs 615 crore. In January 2020, ISRO chairman K Sivan said in a report that the lander rover and propulsion module for the mission would cost around Rs 250 crore, and the launch service would cost an additional Rs 365 crore. The actual cost, however, has not been reported yet.
Those making the comparison claimed, "The budget of Chandrayaan 3 is Rs 615 crores, and the annual budget of Haj subsidy is Rs 685 crores. What do we need?"
Some of these posts further alleged that while Muslims received Haj subsidies, Hindus were not entitled to any such appropriation for pilgrimages. Such posts were shared on Twitter as well.
India Today found that not only did the government of India end Haj subsidies five years ago, but Hindus are also entitled to pilgrimage subsidies.
Our Probe
When we searched keywords regarding the subsidies for the Haj pilgrims, it led us to news reports from The Hindu and Outlook magazine. Both, published on January 16, 2018, noted that the Centre announced the scrapping of subsidies provided to the Muslim pilgrims for Haj. This decision was taken in line with a 2012 order issued by the Supreme Court.
On the YouTube channel of Zee News, we found a statement from then Union Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, speaking on this decision taken by the Central Government. He told reporters in Hindi: “This is part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement.”
But what was the annual Haj subsidy budget before that?
An advanced search with relevant keywords led us to an official figure of the budget for Haj subsidies. On the official website of the Civil Aviation Ministry, we found the allocation of Haj subsidies from 1994 to 2017.
According to it, in 2017, the last year in which a subsidy was given, the amount was Rs 200 crore. Rs 685 crores, as alleged in the viral post, was allocated in 2011 when the UPA government was in charge.
Aren't Hindus entitled to a subsidy for pilgrimages?
According to an Indian Express report published on January 18, 2018, several states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu among others, provided financial assistance to Hindu pilgrims.
For instance, the Madhya Pradesh government pays 50 per cent or a sum of Rs 30,000 to a state citizen for the Kailash -Mansarovar Yatra. This scheme is available under the “Mukhyamantri Tirth Darshan Yojana” and the details can be seen here.
Likewise, in March 2017, the newly elected Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, announced that the subsidy for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra Yatra will be increased to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 50,000. One can apply for the subsidy from the official website of UP government's Dharmarth Karya department.
We also found tweets shared by the CM’s office in UP that featured photos of Adityanath distributing cheques to pilgrims.
In June this year, the Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat government also declared that financial assistance to pilgrims taking the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been increased to Rs 50,000 from Rs 23,000. The official notice of declaration is available on the Yatra Dham website of the Gujarat government.
Similarly, the Haryana government also assists a sum of Rs 50,000 for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, and Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively for Gurudarshan and Sindhu Darshan Yatra.
Therefore, it is clear the viral claim is patently false.
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You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
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