Operator row stalls Jerusalem pilgrimage

HYDERABAD: Mired in controversy ever since it was announced by the YSR government in 2008, the Jerusalem pilgrimage subsidy scheme for Christians has once again run into trouble, this time with the high court directing the government to stall the tender process for fixing a tour operator. The scheme sought to provide a government subsidy of Rs 20,000 per pilgrim for travel to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The government had then sanctioned Rs 2 crore meant to benefit a thousand pilgrims. In 2009, about 150 people availed the subsidy before the scheme was challenged in the high court by right wing activists on grounds that a secular government cannot be involved in any religion based programmes. The high court stayed the scheme but the Supreme Court later vacated the injunction. Following the vacation of stay, tenders were invited for fixing tour operators. While 50 companies participated in the bidding, R K Travels, whose proprietor is Hemant Pandey, emerged as the lowest bidder for operating the tours in 2012-13 offering a package of Rs 55,500 per head.But two other unsuccessful bidders approached the government alleging irregularities with the application of R K Travels. They also contested that the tour operator, being a Hindu, may not have the requisite experience for operating such tours. The government then constituted a three-member committee who reexamined the tender process and suggested its cancellation. The government duly cancelled the tenders in March 2012. Officials of the Andhra Pradesh State Christian (Minorities) Finance Corporation have since then been planning to send proposals to the government for sanction of subsidy amount and for inviting tenders to fix a tour operator. But after R K Travels challenged the government’s decision in the high court, an interim order was issued on March 29 to not go ahead with the tender process until the petition is disposed of. “The certificates submitted by R K Travels were not in order. We were not aware of it until other bidders brought it to our notice. The committee recommended cancellation of the tenders after examining the documents submitted by Hemant Pandey,” explained Mohammed Ali Rafat, ex-secretary to the minorities welfare department. Rafat added that the committee also suggested giving preference to a Christian bidder in future tender processes to ensure that only a tour operator who is adequately experienced in conducting such tours is chosen. When contacted by TOI, Hemant Pandey rued that the tender cancellation was done without justifiable reasons and the move has hurt the reputation of his organization. “All my certificates were in order. We have conducted several such tours. How can the government not verify this before declaring my firm as the lowest bidder? The operator’s religion was not mentioned as a prerequisite in the tender schedule. The tour operator should be concerned with the nuances of the tour. His religion should not be made an issue in a secular country,” he said. T R Sudhir, managing director, State Christian (Minorities) Finance Corporation, refused to comment on the issue.