Muslims are not benefitted by Government's Schemes run for them

Whenever a welfare scheme is announced for Muslims, there is much carping about vote-bank politics, populism and 'favouritism', although the supposed benefits hardly reach the community. Forget benefiting, most poor Muslims are unaware of the schemes inaugurated in their name. For instance, only 49 % of the eligible Muslim population avails of the 'secular' Midday Meal Scheme.

"People do not benefit from these schemes as they lack awareness and local leaders are not interested in informing them of their rights," said Zafar Mehmood, a school teacher and resident of Jaffrabad. That's indeed the case in Seelampur, where TOI found people unaware of entitlements under National Maternity and Laadli schemes.

"Most of us do not have enough documents to avail of the schemes. Government officials demand one identity proof or another," said Shahjahan Begum. She claims to have lived in the same shanty in New Seelampur for more than 40 years but does not have a domicile certificate. "They turn us away although we have Aadhaar and voter cards and get electricity bills in our name. My husband is out of work and we want a BPL card but can't get one without a domicile certificate."

Fehmida, who does Zardozi embroidery, earns only Rs 900 a month for completing three pieces in a week, each one of which sells for around Rs 10,000. "We work daily and sometimes all night," said Fehmida. Her daughters work with her but aren't paid separately. "Women in the unorganized sector get no benefits and only a few hundred rupees for working 17 hours daily, on average," said Mehmoona who works with All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA).

Only 19 % of the city's eligible Muslim population receives the National Old-Age Pension. "If Muslims become confident enough to avail of these benefits, they will no more be the 'votebank' for some political parties," said Mehmood.

A study by Civil Society Network for the Institute of Objective Studies shows that other civic amenities, such as community centres, playgrounds and fire stations aren't sufficient or situated very far. "The government's development engines seem to have stalled on the border of Muslim-majority areas. How come there are few facilities near our houses as compared to other parts of Delhi? People say a lot of development took place in Sandeep Dikshit's East Delhi constituency. True, but the Okhla area was completely neglected," said Akhlaq Ahmad of Jamia Nagar.

Residents of the North East constituency say they were left out of development plans. "Except for a foot overbridge, no other project was taken up in the area during Commonwealth Games," said Mohd Shiraz of Seemapuri.