Former minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir on Monday welcomed the allocation of Rs 1,027 crore for the Minority Welfare in the State budget for 2013-14.
In a media statement, Shabbir Ali said that the budget has more than doubled from Rs 499 crore provided last year. He said the increase in allocation proves the Congress Government's commitment towards the welfare of minorities in the State. He praised Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy for allocating sufficient amount for the minorities' development.
Shabbir Ali reminded that it was the Congress Government which constituted the Minorities Welfare Department in Andhra Pradesh in 1993 for the first time in the country. The same model was emulated by other States and the departments are active in over 14 States across the country. Further, an amount of Rs 1.20 crore were allocated for the Minorities Welfare for the first time in 1994-95 by the then Finance Minister K Rosaiah. He said the budget for Minorities Welfare has increased by almost 1,000 times in the last 20 years.
The Congress MLC (Elect) said that efforts would be made to ensure that the allocated amounts get spent for the welfare of minorities in the State.