In a report by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) it has been revealed that Maharashtra is the second largest recipient of grants provided by the Centre for the upliftment of minorities in the state.
The report says that between 2008-2009 and 2013-2014 Maulana Azad Education Foundation (MAEF) which was established under the minority affairs ministry distributed 9.38 crore to 68 NGOs in the state. Maharashtra also ranked fourth, in terms of availing scholarship for girls from minority communities.
The report also states that Uttar Pradesh received the biggest share with 255 NGOs receiving 30.79 crore. The state received 35.8% of the total allocation of Rs 85.94 crore.
About three-fourths of the Rs 85.94 crore has gone to six states — UP, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, AP and Haryana.
The report also reveals that some of the districts have received disproportionately high share of the grants. Like Mallapuram (Kerala), Moradabad (UP) and Gurgaon (Haryana) aggregating in between Rs 3.65 crore and Rs 4.04 crore.
12,095 girls from minority communities in Maharashtra have availed the Maulana Azad Scholarship between 2003-04 and 2013-14. UP, Kerala and West Bengal lead the list, having received 21%, 14% and 9% of the total scholarships respectively.
The advice of TISS was sought last year by the Ministry of Minority Affairs for effective and efficient disbursal mechanism.
