Udupi : NB Aboobakker, Chairman of the Karnataka State Minorities Development Corporation has claimed that the BJP government has been providing an increased allocation to the Minorities Welfare Department compared to the previous governments.

Speaking to reporters here on May 8, Tuesday, he even furnished statistics to prove the same. He said if   previous governments used to allocate Rs. 20 crore to Rs. 35 crore for the Department, the BJP government has  allocated Rs. 128.98 crore to the department in 2008-09, Rs. 173.73 crore, Rs. 269.26 crore and Rs. 326 crore in the following years while the allocation in the current budget was Rs. 406 crore.

The Government has allotted a sum of Rs 100 crore to the State Minorities Development Corporation in the budget for 2012-13  and another  Rs 20cores under the Special Development Programme, he said. He also informed that the  Corporation has  benefited over 1.45 lakh people  through its schemes worth Rs 237.5 crore in the past three year period.

He said under  Swavalambana margin money scheme, Rs. 20.27 crore has been sanctioned to 13,602 beneficiaries, while under the  Arivu scheme, subsidized loans to the tune of Rs. 71.56 crore has been advanced  to 40,642 students from minority communities.

CDC member Gladys Almeida,   State Wakf Committee member Saleem Ambagilu and others were present at the press meet.