Lok Sabha Question No. 1478 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-27
Subject: Haj Pilgrims
Ministry: MINORITY AFFAIRS
Asked by: SADASHIV KISAN LOKHANDE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINORITY AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No.1478 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27.12.2017

## HAJ PILGRIMS

## 1478.  SHRI SADASHIV LOKHANDE:

Will the Minister of MINORITY AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether global tender can not be floated for air traveling of Haj pilgrims under an agreement signed between the Government of Saudi Arabia and India; and if so, the facts thereof;
- (b) whether also on the contrary to the said agreement, Air India gives sub contract to other smaller airlines at lower rates;
- (c) whether the Government is making any effort to start the process of global tender and make amendments in the said agreement to provide affordable air tickets to Haj pilgrims; and
- (d) if not, the reasons therefor along with the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI MUKHTAR ABBAS NAQVI)

- (a)  The responsibilities for making air travel arrangements for Haj Pilgrims selected by the  Haj  Committee  of  India  is  with  the  Ministry  of  Civil  Aviation  (MoCA).  As  per inputs  received  from  MoCA,  Global  tender  can  not  be  floated  in  compliance  of General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), Saudi Arabia circular dated 15.06.2011, which states that GACA express its regret for not being able to permit third party to participate  in  the  carriage  of  pilgrims  between  the  two  countries.  Such  traffic  is shared equally by the designated or nominated airlines of each contracting party.
- (b)  No,  Madam.  In  order  to  ensure  that  Haj  operations  are  conducted  smoothly  and without inconvenience to the Haj pilgrims, it was mandated that the airlines will not be allowed to outsource their operation to any third party for onward Haj operations. Since Haj 2015, Air India is operating Haj flights with its own fleet.
- (c)  & (d) In  order  to  provide  affordable  air  tickets  to  Haj  pilgrims,  the  Haj  aspirants have been given option by the Haj Committee of India for Haj 2018 to choose either their existing embarkation point or the nearest economical embarkation point based on the actual airfare of Haj 2017. The list of embarkation points with options for Haj 2018 is at Annexure.

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## Annexure  referred  in  part  (c)  &  (d)  of  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.1478 regarding Haj pilgrims raised by Shri Sadashiv Lokhande for reply on 27.12.2017

## List of Embarkation Points for Haj 2018 with options

|   Sr.No. | State/U.T./Districts Covered                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Embarkation Point (Optional) with Haj-2017 Airfare (including Airport Charges & Taxes)   | Embarkation Point (Basic) with Haj-2017 Airfare (including Airport Charges & Taxes)   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|        1 | Jammu & Kashmir.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    | NEW DELHI Rs. 73,697/-                                                                   | SRINAGAR Rs. 1,09,692/-                                                               |
|        2 | Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh & Sikkim.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | KOLKATA Rs. 83,027/-                                                                     | GUWAHATI Rs. 1,15,646/-                                                               |
|        3 | Jharkhand.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | KOLKATA Rs. 83,027/-                                                                     | RANCHI Rs. 1,07,275/-                                                                 |
|        4 | Bihar.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              | KOLKATA Rs. 83,027/-                                                                     | GAYA Rs. 1,13,680/-                                                                   |
|        5 | Madhya Pradesh (Alirajpur, Badwani, Burhanpur, Dewas, Dhar, Indore, Jhabua, Khandwa, Khargone, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam & Ujjain Distris)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                      | INDORE Rs. 97,233/-                                                                   |
|        6 | Madhya Pradesh (Anuppura, Ashok Nagar, Betul, Bhind, Bhopal, Datiya,Chhatarpur, Damoh, Dindori, Guna, Gwalior, Harda, Hoshangabad, Jabalpur, Katni, Morena, Narshingpur, Panna, Raisen, Rajgarh, Rewa, Sagar, Satna, Sehore, Shahdol, Shahjapur, Sheopur Kalan, Shivpuri, Sidhi, Singrauli, Tikamgarh, Umaria & Vidisha Districts).                                                                 | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                      | BHOPAL Rs. 95,328/-                                                                   |
|        7 | Mangaluru (DK), Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Kodagu & Udupi Districts of Karnataka State.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                | BENGALURU Rs. 71,586/-                                                                   | MANGALURU Rs. 1,05,356/-                                                              |
|        8 | Goa and Uttar Kannada & Belagavi Districts of Karnatka State.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                      | GOA Rs. 81,536/-                                                                      |
|        9 | Maharashtra (Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Jalna, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani and Ahmed Nagar Distrits).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                      | AURANGABAD Rs. 87,460/-                                                               |
|       10 | Uttar Pradesh [Eastern Districts viz Allahabad, Azamgarh, Ballia, Deoria, Chandauli, Ghazipur, Gorakhpur, Jaunpur, kushambi, kushi Nagar, Mau, Maharaj Ganj, Mirzapur, Sant Ravidas Nagar, Sonbhadra & Varanasi].                                                                                                                                                                                   | LUCKNOW Rs. 80,966/-                                                                     | VARANASI Rs. 92,387/-                                                                 |
|       11 | Rajasthan.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          | JAIPUR Rs. 83,216/-                                                                      | JAIPUR Rs. 83,216/-                                                                   |
|       12 | Chhattishgar, Maharashtra (Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldhana, Gondi Chandra pur, Gadchiroli, Nagpur, Wardha, Washim & Yavatmal Distrits of Vidharbha Region) and Madhya Pradesh (Balaghat, Chindwada, Mandla & Seoni Districts).                                                                                                                                                                  | NAGPUR Rs. 70,972/-                                                                      | NAGPUR Rs. 70,972/-                                                                   |
|       13 | Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigar, Uttarakhand,& Uttar Pradesh, [Western Districts viz Agra, Aligarh, Baghpat, Bhimnagar, (Sambhal), Bijnore, Buland Shahar, Firozabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Mahamaya Nagar, (Hathras), Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Panchsheel Nagar (Hapur), Prabudh Nagar (Kairana, Shamli), Rampur & Saharanpur]. | NEW DELHI Rs. 73,697/-                                                                   | NEW DELHI Rs. 73,697/-                                                                |
|       14 | Maharashtra (Dhule, Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nandurbar, nasik, pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur & Thane Districts), Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli.                                                                                                                                                                                                             | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                      | MUMBAI Rs. 58,254/-                                                                   |

|   15. | West Bengal, Odisha and Tripura.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       | KOLKATA Rs. 83,027/-   | KOLKATA Rs. 83,027/-   |
|-------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|    16 | Karnataka, (Bagalkot, Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru Urban, Ballari, Vijayapura, Haveri chamraj Nagar, Chikbalapur, Chitradurga, Davangerem, Dharwad, Kolar, Gadag, Kopal, Mandya, Mysuru, Ramanagaram, Shivamogga & Tumakuru Districts) and Anantpur & Chittoor Districts of Andhraprades State.                                                                                                                                                                                                          | BENGALURU Rs. 71,586/- | BENGALURU Rs. 71,586/- |
|    17 | Andhr Pradesh & Telangana (Adilabad, Cuddapah, East Godavari, Guntur, Hyderabad, Kadapa, Karim Nagar, Khammam, Krishna, Kurnool, Mahabub Nagar, Medak, Nal Gonda, Nellore, Nizamabad, Patan Chiru, Prakasam, Rangareddi, Sangareddy, Secunderabad, Srikakulam, Vishakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Warangal & West Godavari Districts) and Bidar, Kalaburagi, raichur & Yadgir Districts of Karnataka State.                                                                                                 | HYDERABAD Rs. 65,655/- | HYDERABAD Rs. 65,655/- |
|    18 | Kerala, Lakshdweep & Mahe (Puducherry)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | COCHIN Rs. 76,372/-    | COCHIN Rs. 76,372/-    |
|    19 | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             | CHENNAI Rs. 83,832/-   | CHENNAI Rs. 83,832/-   |
|    20 | Gujarat.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               | AHMEDABAD Rs. 63,135/- | AHMEDABAD Rs. 63,135/- |
|    21 | Uttar Pradesh [Central Districts viz Ambedkar Nagar, Auraiya, Badaun, banda, Bahraich, Balrampur, Barabanki, Bareilly, Basti, C.S.M. Nagar, (Amethi), Etah, Chitrakoot, Etawah, Faizabad, Farrukhabad, Fatehpur, Gonda, Hameerpur, Hardoi, Jalaun, Jhansi, Kannauj, Kanpur, Kasganj, Lakhimpur Kheri, Lalitpur, Lucknow, Mohaba, Mainpuri, Pilibhit, Pratap Garh, Rae Bareilly, Ramabai Nagar (Kanpur Dehat), Sant Kabir Nagar, Shahjahanpur, Shravasti, Siddharth Nagar, Sitapur, Sultanpur & Unnao]. | LUCKNOW Rs. 80,966/-   | LUCKNOW Rs. 80,966/-   |

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