Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Thursday appointed Dr Abid Rasool Khan as the Chairman of the re-constituted AP State Minorities Commission.
Rev. Dr. Perumallepalle Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose of Guntur will be the Vice Chairman. Members of re-constituted Minorities Commission will be Syed Maqbool Hussain Basha (YSR Kadapa district), Dr Hassan Qurratulain (Hyderabad), Smt. Prabha Elizabaeth Joseph (East Godavari), Sardar Sarjit Singh (Ranga Reddy) and Gautam Jain (Hyderabad).
A G.O.Ms No.42 dated 16-05-2013 has been issued in this regard. The term of the Chairman, Vice Chairman and Members of the Commission will be for three years.
It may be recalled here that the State Government has allocated Rs.1,027 crore towards Minorities welfare this year, more than double of the last year’s allocation of Rs 489 crore, which is 110 per cent increase. The State Government has also initiated many other welfare schemes for minorities welfare like re-imbursement of fees, scholarships, construction of shaadi khanas etc. The Government also set up Commissionerate of Minorities Welfare and sanctioned 69 posts.
Dr. Abid Rasool Khan is a prominent educationist and philanthropist. He is the grandson of Ghulam Rasool Khan, Collector in the then Hyderabad Government and son of Abdul Mannan Khan, eminent journalist of Hyderabad. Dr Abid Rasool Khan was a member of the Executive Council, Osmania University. He was Chairman of a committee appointed for protection of the lands belonging to Osmania University. He has served as a member of State Hajj Committee appointed by Government of Andhra Pradesh.
Dr.Rasool Khan was Chairman of Mannan group of institutions which is running engineering, Management and Pharmacy college located in Chevalla, Ranga Reddy district. He was secretary of Amina Group of institutions under which they are running an Engineering and Management College, located at Shamirpet. He has initiated and successfully resettled a slum at Uppal by getting constructed a colony of about 200 houses known as Indramanagar colony opposite to Survey of India.
Dr Rasool Khan is also the Chairman of Minorities Empowerment Forum, an NGO working for uplift and social empowerment of minorities with a membership of over 30,000 members. He is also secretary of the Council for Wildlife Conservation, an NGO working for the conservation of wild life and nature. On his initiative, the State Government implemented the 10 per cent fee waiver scheme for economically backward, women and physically handicapped students on a super numerary basis in professional courses. Andhra Pradesh was the first State in this country to implement this scheme and about 15,000 students benefit by this scheme every year.
Dr.Rasool Khan is advisor to the Centre for Educational Development of Minorities, Osmania University. This Centre invites training and coaching of minorities for State and Central services under the revised 15-point programme for minorities launched by the Prime Minister. Dr. Khan is the Chairman of the Hyderabad Trust in which scholarship are being given to poor students, monthly pensions to the elderly and widows.