MALAPPURAM: With the Kerala State Haj Committee remaining defiant, the Haj Committee of India (HCoI) will conduct draw of lots to select pilgrims for this year’s Haj on Tuesday. The decision was taken after the Kerala State Haj Committee failed to conduct the selection on Monday. Chief executive officer Maqsood Ahmed Khan told Express the selection will be conducted by HCoI by 4 pm on Tuesday.
“We can wait no more. All the processes should go in a time-bound manner and the data should be consolidated by January 25. And the selection process will be carried out by the HoCI,” he said.
Earlier, the date for selection of pilgrims was scheduled to be held on January 22. The State Haj Committee had approached the HCoI seeking steps to postpone the date to February 2.
The demand was raised citing that the selection, if conducted by the state, will affect the petition filed by the State Haj Committee in the Supreme Court. The State Haj Committee has approached the court seeking steps to reinstate reservation for fifth-time applicants. The reservation was cancelled in the revised Haj Policy of 2018. “We are unable to carry draw of lots as it will affect the case. Our demand to postpone the date has also been rejected. It can be done only by the HCoI,” Mohammed Kunju Moulavi said.
Number of applicants
2017- 95,000
2018-65,000
Number of seats in 2017- 11,807
Number of seats expected in 2018-11,000
State has demanded 20,000 seats
Pilgrims who go through government quota spend around D2.65 lakh while the trip through private operators costs around
Rs 4 lakh.