Minority welfare officers to be appointed in all blocks: Minister

Patna: State’s minority welfare minister Mohammad Zama Khan said on Friday that block minority welfare officers (BMWOs) will be appointed in all 534 blocks of the state by the end of the financial year 2026-27 to strengthen monitoring, improve implementation of welfare schemes, and streamline departmental work at the grassroots level.Speaking at a press conference here, Khan said the state govt has decided to establish minority welfare offices at the block level. To operationalise this expansion, the govt has created 1,076 posts across different ranks for staffing these block-level offices. He said the move is aimed at ensuring closer supervision of programmes and faster delivery of benefits to eligible minority communities.Khan said that, against 534 sanctioned BMWO posts, only 44 officers are currently working in an equal number of blocks, indicating a significant staffing gap that the govt intends to fill within the stated timeline.He added that a requisition has been sent to the authorities concerned to fill additional vacancies, including six posts of district minority welfare officer and 37 posts of hostel managers, along with other required positions.On education-related initiatives, the minister said madrasa students are now being taught subjects such as Hindi, English, social science, science and mathematics to help them compete in today’s environment. He said the department is working to improve education standards and is currently running smart classes in 75 madrasas in collaboration with the Maulana Mazharul Haque Arabic and Persian University, Patna, and the minority welfare department. He added that the smart class initiative will be extended to all madrasas in the state in the future.Khan also highlighted the effort to fence more than 9,000 graveyards to prevent encroachment and reduce communal friction. He claimed that before 2005, encroachment of graveyards and related disputes often led to quarrels and communal tensions.Listing departmental achievements, he said the state govt provides one-time financial assistance of Rs25,000 to eligible abandoned or divorced Muslim women under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Alpsankhyak Muslim Parityakta/Talakshuda Mahila Sahayata Yojana’. Operational since FY 2006-07, the scheme is intended to support self-reliance. He said 16,176 women were benefited, and the assistance amount was raised from Rs10,000 to Rs25,000 in 2017-18.Khan was accompanied by secretary Mohammad Sohail, special secretary Amir Afaque Ahmad Faizi, additional secretaries Ibrar Ahmad Khan and Shahid Parwez and deputy secretary Nurul Ain.