NEW DELHI: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has criticized the AAP government for its failure to disclose the salaries paid to the priests of the city’s mosques.
information commissioner Uday Mahurkar on Friday directed the state government to provide details to a RTI the applicant relates the amount paid as wages to the imam, indicating that the money is taken from the public treasury.
Mahurkar said even the Delhi Waqf Board initially denied paying the imams but later insisted it was just bonuses and not salaries. “The Commission observed that there was an apparent attempt to conceal information in the early stages by means of a pun indicating a complete lack of transparency on the part of the respondent agencies in a case affecting the terms of the law. account of Structureas well as social harmony and the uniform applicability of the law to all religions in line with the constitutional orientation that citizens of all religions are treated equally,” he said.
To seek more details on the salary paid by the AAP government, the committee emphasized that the waqf board receives an annual allowance of around Rs 62 crore from the Delhi government while the monthly income from the their own independent source is only around Rs 30 lakh. one month. “So the monthly remuneration of Rs 18,000 and Rs 16,000 given to the imams and muezzins of DWB mosques in Delhi is being paid by the Delhi government virtually from taxpayers’ money, which is completely This is in stark contrast to the example cited by the appellant in which the priest of a Hindu temple is receiving a small Rs 2,000 per month from the trust fund that controls said temple,” added the information commissioner.
Mahurkar is hearing an appeal by prominent RTI activist Subhash Aggarwal asking the Delhi government and Delhi Waqf Council for details on salaries for imams.
While issuing guidelines to the government, the commission broadened the scope of its intervention and violated a 1993 Supreme Court order authorizing the remuneration of clerics in mosques. The Information Commissioner commented that the ruling is a “violation of the Constitution” and besides setting a “false precedent”, has become an unnecessary point of political and social discord.
He claimed that the order violated the constitutional provisions that “taxpayer money shall not be used to support any particular religion”.
Mahurkar directed that a copy of his order be sent to the Union law minister with appropriate action to ensure the enforcement of articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution in writing and spirit to keep all All religions are equal in terms of monthly remuneration for priests of different religions. religions at the expense of public budgets – both central and state – and other problems.
The committee has also directed the waqf board to compensate by paying the sum of Rs 25,000 to Agrawal for having taken time and resources to pursue a response to his application.
In an 11-page order, the information commissioner noted that it is “historically necessary for the State to give special religious benefits to the Muslim community. A country of religion (Islam)” Pakistan was born out of that need.” of a section of Indian Muslims to divide India by religious lineage. Although Pakistan chose to be a religious (Muslim) country, India chose a Constitution that guarantees equal rights for all religions.”
Thus, paying only imams and others in mosques would mean “not only betraying the Hindu community and members of the non-Muslim religious minorities.” other, but also encouraged an inter-Muslim trend among an already evident part of the Indian Muslim population”. speak.
information commissioner Uday Mahurkar on Friday directed the state government to provide details to a RTI the applicant relates the amount paid as wages to the imam, indicating that the money is taken from the public treasury.
Mahurkar said even the Delhi Waqf Board initially denied paying the imams but later insisted it was just bonuses and not salaries. “The Commission observed that there was an apparent attempt to conceal information in the early stages by means of a pun indicating a complete lack of transparency on the part of the respondent agencies in a case affecting the terms of the law. account of Structureas well as social harmony and the uniform applicability of the law to all religions in line with the constitutional orientation that citizens of all religions are treated equally,” he said.
To seek more details on the salary paid by the AAP government, the committee emphasized that the waqf board receives an annual allowance of around Rs 62 crore from the Delhi government while the monthly income from the their own independent source is only around Rs 30 lakh. one month. “So the monthly remuneration of Rs 18,000 and Rs 16,000 given to the imams and muezzins of DWB mosques in Delhi is being paid by the Delhi government virtually from taxpayers’ money, which is completely This is in stark contrast to the example cited by the appellant in which the priest of a Hindu temple is receiving a small Rs 2,000 per month from the trust fund that controls said temple,” added the information commissioner.
Mahurkar is hearing an appeal by prominent RTI activist Subhash Aggarwal asking the Delhi government and Delhi Waqf Council for details on salaries for imams.
While issuing guidelines to the government, the commission broadened the scope of its intervention and violated a 1993 Supreme Court order authorizing the remuneration of clerics in mosques. The Information Commissioner commented that the ruling is a “violation of the Constitution” and besides setting a “false precedent”, has become an unnecessary point of political and social discord.
He claimed that the order violated the constitutional provisions that “taxpayer money shall not be used to support any particular religion”.
Mahurkar directed that a copy of his order be sent to the Union law minister with appropriate action to ensure the enforcement of articles 25 to 28 of the Constitution in writing and spirit to keep all All religions are equal in terms of monthly remuneration for priests of different religions. religions at the expense of public budgets – both central and state – and other problems.
The committee has also directed the waqf board to compensate by paying the sum of Rs 25,000 to Agrawal for having taken time and resources to pursue a response to his application.
In an 11-page order, the information commissioner noted that it is “historically necessary for the State to give special religious benefits to the Muslim community. A country of religion (Islam)” Pakistan was born out of that need.” of a section of Indian Muslims to divide India by religious lineage. Although Pakistan chose to be a religious (Muslim) country, India chose a Constitution that guarantees equal rights for all religions.”
Thus, paying only imams and others in mosques would mean “not only betraying the Hindu community and members of the non-Muslim religious minorities.” other, but also encouraged an inter-Muslim trend among an already evident part of the Indian Muslim population”. speak.
