The Advisor to the Government added that as part of that, the Garden View Wakf Mall, which had been pending for the last 17 years, would be completed soon.
Advisor to the Government of Telangana (SC, ST, BC & Minorities) Mohammed Ali Shabbir today said that the Congress government would complete all the projects and initiatives that were kept pending by the previous BRS regime to ensure fast-paced growth of the SCs, STs, BCs and minorities in Telangana.
Speaking to media persons after conducting a review meeting with the officials of the Minorities' Welfare Department, Telangana State Wakf Board and Haj Committee at the Haj House, Nampally, Shabbir Ali added that as part of that, the "Garden View Wakf Mall", which had been pending for the last 17 years, would be completed soon.
He said that as the then Minorities Welfare Minister in the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government in 2005, he was instrumental in purchasing two land parcels on either side of the Haj House for the mall by spending over Rs 22 crore.
The foundation for the mall was laid on February 22, 2009, and construction was started. The structure for seven floors and two cellars was completed during the Congress regime. However, the previous BRS government did not touch the project for almost 10 years, and consequently the under-construction building had been lying idle despite so much investment, Shabbir Ali said. He directed the officials to invite fresh tenders to complete the project.
He said that the mall would have a restaurant and other offices. It would be used for accommodating Haj pilgrims for one month every year, and in the remaining 11 months, it would be used for other purposes including providing boarding facilities to students who came from far-off places to study for civil services and other exams, he said.
He also said that the arrears of Rs 7.35 crore towards the honorariums for 13,735 Imams and Muezzins across the State had been released. He said that the dues for one more month were pending, and they too would be released soon.
Shabbir Ali also said that elaborate arrangements were being made for the Haj season 2024. He said that some 10,000 Haj pilgrims, including those from neighbouring Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, would leave for the holy journey from the Hyderabad Embarkation Point, and that top-class arrangements would be made for their food, accommodation and other needs.
Shabbir Ali also said that efforts to implement Urdu as second official language in Telangana would be revived, and also that the Urdu Academy would be strengthened.