Maharashtra Muslims form action committee on job quota
Mumbai, Aug 26: Maharashtra's Muslims on Sunday formed "Muslim Aarakshan Sanyukta Kruti Samiti" (Muslim Reservation Joint Action Committee) to force the state government to implement its promise of providing reservation in jobs.
The committee has been set up by top Muslim organisations, political leaders, scholars, academicians, lawyers, professionals and other prominent personalities to take their quota struggle to its logical conclusion.
When the erstwhile Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan-led Democratic Front government was in power, "it promulgated an ordinance" to provide 16 per cent reservations to Marathas and 5 per cent quotas for Muslims in government jobs and educational institutions.
Later, the Bombay High Court struck down the reservations for the politically-influential Maratha community completely but allowed 5 per cent reservations for Muslims only in educational institutions.
Subsequently, the Supreme Court upheld the order of the Bombay High Court.
Against the backdrop of the recent protests by the Maratha community for reservations and the renewed demand by Dhangars to be included in Schedule Tribes, the demand for Muslim quotas has also come to the fore.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Hussain Dalwai said it was high time the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre and Maharashtra government pay heed and work together to ensure reservations for Muslims.
Referring to the Rajinder Sachar Committee commissioned in 2005 by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Dalwai said, it is a report highlighting the plight and the current status of Muslims in India.
He pointed out that the Mehmood-ur-Rehman Committee had recommended 8-10 per cent reservation in education and jobs, plus a separate 10 per cent reservation for Muslim women.
This Committee was set up in 2008 by the previous Congress-Nationalist Congress Party Democratic Front government in Maharashtra, to study the economic, social and educational backwardness of Muslims in the state.
Shrimant Kokate of Maratha Seva Sangh has also backed the demand of the Muslims.
As per the Census 2011, Muslims constitute around 172 million or 14.20 per cent of the total Indian population and are the single largest religious minority.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
