Rs 200 crore facelift for 24 Gujarat ghettos

GANDHINAGAR: The Union and the state governments have notified 24 minority concentration areas (MCA) of Gujarat for minority-specific development work under the PM’s Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).
Godhra in Panchmahal district figures in the list of MCA. Surprisingly, one of the largest Muslim ghetto Juhapura, along with other minority community dominated areas of Ahmedabad, Vadodara and Surat do not figure in the list.

The Gujarat government’s committee headed by the chief secretary has finalized the first phase of Rs 200 crore minority specific development plan of these 24 MCAs. Under the PMJVK-MCA scheme, 60% grant (Rs 120 crore) is funded by the Union government while 40% (Rs 80 crore) will be allocated by the state government.
Key government sources said that on the basis of the proposal sent by the state government, the Centre has approved nine blocks (talukas) and 15 other areas as MCA in Gujarat. “The population of minority communities has been taken into consideration to formulate the proposal.
More minority areas may be added: Govt
A committee chaired by the chief secretary has approved the first phase of minority concentration areas development plan prepared by the state social justice & empowerment department,” sources said.
The sum of Rs 200 crore will be used for development works like building of hostels, skill development centres, and education and social development facilities.
Asked why minority community dominated areas like Juhapura in Ahmedabad, Tandalja in Vadodara and other similar areas in Surat and other cities which have large minority populations have not been included in minority concentration areas , the officials said, “Final approval of theminority concentration areas is done by the Centre. However, more areas may be added in coming years.”