New Delhi: The Haj Committee of India will reimburse payments made by Indian pilgrims for Haj 2020 within a month, Haj Committee CEO, Maqsood Ahmed Khan, told ETV Bharat on Wednesday.
Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had on Tuesday stated that Muslims from India will not travel to Saudi Arabia for Haj 2020 after the kingdom conveyed that pilgrims should not be sent this year in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The money will be refunded through online DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) mode into the bank accounts of the applicants within a month and there is no need to apply for cancellations," said Haj Committee CEO, Maqsood Ahmed Khan.
On being asked about several State Hajj Committees suggestion to the Haj Committee of India to reserve the seats for Hajj 2021 for those people who were provisionally selected for the pilgrimage this year, Maqsood Ahmed Khan said, "all this will be decided in the next year's Hajj policy and as of now we have not made any decision in this regard."
However, Naqvi had on Tuesday said that this year, more than 2300 women had applied to perform Hajj without Mehram (male companion) and they will be allowed to go to Haj 2021 based on their Hajj 2020 application only.
According to officials, 2,13,000 applications had registered for Hajj and about 16,000 had opted for the offer for cancellation, but now all applicants will get a full refund without any deductions. On Monday, Saudi Arabia Ministry of Hajj and Umrah issued a statement saying, "Due to Corona pandemic and the risks of Coronavirus spreading in crowded spaces and large gatherings, it has been decided that Hajj for this year (1441 H/2020 AD) will be held whereby a very limited number of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia, would be able to perform it."
The Hajj flights from India to Saudi Arabia were scheduled to commence from June 25 but the kingdom halted the international passenger flights in March and asked to put Hajj plans on hold until further notice.
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