Haj Package Costs Reduced by Rs 50,000 under New Haj Policy

New Delhi: Under the new Haj Policy, the Union government has for the first time reduced the costs of the Haj package costs by around Rs 50 thousand.
According to the Union Minority Affairs Ministry, this new landmark Haj Policy will provide financial relief to the pilgrims. For the first time, there will be no application charges for those applying for Haj.
The Ministry said, under the Haj policy released on Monday, there will be a wide choice of embarkation points and special arrangements are made for ladies, infants, divyangjan and the elderly.

Haj package costs have been reduced as the money that was deposited with the Haj Committee for foreign exchange and items such as umbrellas, bags, and bed sheets would not be charged and these things can be arranged by the pilgrims themselves.

The application forms are now free for the first time, the ministry said.

Earlier, the form used to cost ₹ 300 irrespective of whether one is selected or not.

As per the new Haj Policy, out of the total quota allocated to the government of India, 80 per cent will be allocated to the Haj Committee of India and the remaining 20 per cent will be allocated to private operators.

The Haj application forms can be obtained from state and Union Territory Haj committees free of cost or can be downloaded from the website of the Haj Committee of India at hajcommittee.gov.in or through the android mobile application “HAJ COMMITTEE OF INDIA” available on the play store.

“Those who have performed Haj earlier through Haj Committee of India will not be eligible to apply. In the case of ‘Mehram’ (companion) for lady pilgrims and of companions accompanying pilgrims over 70 years of age, repeaters will be allowed on payment of additional charges as applicable from time to time,” the policy stated.