No discrimination against Muslims in Employment Scheme: Gujarat Go

New Delhi, May 31 (UNI) The Gujarat government has trashed reports appearing in a section of the national media that it has been excluding Muslims in Panchmahals district from the Centrally- sponsored National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS).

''This story is totally baseless and far from truth,'' a Gujarat Government official said here.

The official quoted Panchmahals (Godhra) District Collector D.H.

Brahmbhatt as saying that the employment scheme was being implemented by the District Rural Development Agency without any bias against the Muslim community members.

In Eral village of Panchmahals no Muslim families were denied work or registration.

''The mention of Mr. Yusufbhai Ibrahim Sheikh as Deputy Sarpanch of Eral is also not correct as he has stated in the written statement as well as in a videographed interview that he has not complained to anyone,'' he said.

In a written statement, Mr Sheikh said he was fully aware of the scheme and all other Muslim families were also aware of it as most of them were employed or engaged in works like driving, vehicle repairs, electric repairs or working in their own establishments or agriculture.

The village official also stated that so far no one from the Muslim families had applied for work under the scheme and ''they were all briefed in Gram Sabha...At present, no Muslim is interested to get the job under the scheme as they are sufficiently employed and they are not interested or inclined to do the manual labour work.'' He also categorically described discrimination as ''baseless'', saying he did not agree with the interview published in his name in a leading newspaper.

''Some officers had come to the village a few days back and enquired about the scheme, but surely I never complained about the discrimination or partial treatment by others or the panchayat officials.

Mr Brahmbhatt said the district administration has made adequate efforts to give wide publicity to such an important scheme. All 11 talukas of the district were covered through workshops while elected representatives and officials had been briefed about it.

About the 161 ongoing works in the entire district, where 4200 labourers were working, he said not a single complaint had been received.

''In all villages, Hindu and Muslims workers are working peacefully. If Muslim workers are getting work in Boru village of Kalol taluka, then Muslims of Eral are equally and legitimately empowered by Deputy Sarpanch Yusufbhai and officials of the Panchayat Department,'' the official said.

Regarding Derol district, Mr Brahmbhatt said no Muslim family was living at present in Derol and all of them were living in nearby places. ''Their names are not even in the voter's list. When they do not live in Derol, it is quite understandable that their names will not appear in the scheme.'' The media report on Vejelpur Taluka in Kalol was also far from truth, the official said. On February 2, wider publicity in the village was also organised through public address system.

Ibrahim Yusuf Kadiya and Mohammed Hanif Abid Aji, the elected members of Vejelpur Gram Panchayat, had also denied the news that they faced discrimination of the panchayat or government machinery.

''On the contrary, they publicly admit that in the present environment, communal peace and harmony is excellent,'' he said.

The district administration had recently arranged the marriage ceremony for six disabled couples, including two from the Muslim community.

''This is just to show the efforts and sensitivity of district administration for the Muslims of the district,'' he added.

UNI/SKS PK RN1530