The Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has said that Rs 57 crore less will be paid to airlines this year for Haj pilgrims travelling through the Haj committee of India, even after the PM Modi govt ended the Haj subsidy to pilgrims. Naqvi claimed that the decision has been taken taking into account the fact that despite the removal of Haj subsidy and various new taxes imposed in Saudi Arabia, a record 1,75,025 Indians were going for the Haj this year. As per the data, last year Rs 1,030 crore had been paid as air fare for 1,24,852 Haj pilgrims, while this year, Rs. 973 crore will be paid to airlines for 1,28,702 pilgrims, through the Haj committee.
