Roadmap for Implementing 15-point Programme soon

New Delhi, Sep 23 (UNI) Ground work for implementation of the Prime Minister's 15-point programme for socio-economic development of minorities is nearing completion, and the Minorities Affairs Ministry has formulated draft guidelines for implementation of the ambitious scheme.

The guidelines will be sent to states as soon as they get Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's approval, Secretary M K Prasad said here.

The Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister has already taken two review meetings, he said.

The 15-Point Programme for welfare of minorities, which was approved by the Cabinet on June 22, touches areas ranging from communal riots and education to employment and housing.

''It is a very comprehensive and complicated programme invloving several ministries and departments, and at present we are in dialogue with as many as nine Union ministries,'' he said.

The secretary said the process of fixing targets for various sectors covered in the programme will be completed in October.

''We have covered a lot of ground, though still lot of things are to be done, but we are finally on the way,'' said the secretary.

Mr Prasad said that the programme was different from all other schemes as there is very strong provision for its monitoring.

The Programme, which was formulated in 1983, has been revised and recast, as promised by the Prime Minister in his last year's Independence Day budget.

He had said,'' The New 15-Point Programme will have definite goals which are to be achieved in a specific time frame.'' The cabinet had also decided that 15 per cent of the funds provided under the scheme should be earmarked wherever possible for nationally declared minorities.

The Programme envisages action in the field of education, economic development and security of minorities.

Under the security, the issues to be addressed are prevention of communal riots, prosecution for communal offences and rehabilitation of victims of communal incident.

In education, the stress would be on improving access to school, modernisation of madrasas, providing resources for teaching of Urdu and improving educational infrastructure through Maulana Azad Education Foundation.

In the economic area, the programme focusses on creation of employment, upgradation of skills through technical training, credit support and recruitment to state and central services and equitable share in rural housing and improvement of slums.

The 15-point programme has been recast to provide for earmarking of outlays in certain schemes so that the progress was monitorable.

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