Private Haj tour operators said that the 42,000 applicants for Haj 2025 who will not be able to go on the pilgrimage next month because of the cancellation of 80% of quota booked through the companies will get priority in Haj 2026. The fees already paid by them are in a wallet and will be used to book the next year's journey.
Preparations for this year's pilgrimage to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina have been chaotic after the Saudi Arabian government cancelled 80% of the quota assigned to Haj Group Organisers or private operators.
India was allotted a quota of 1,75,025 for Haj 2025 of which 1,22,517 or 70% were selected by a lottery by the Haj Committee of India which is managed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The remaining 52,507 were distributed among 26 Combined Haj Group Organisers. On April 11, the Saudi Arabian government announced a reduction of the private quota, saying that tour companies failed to deposit the fees on time. This caused a furore among pilgrims who accused the tour operators of not meeting the Saudi Arabian government's deadline.
Tour operators who spoke to the media in Mumbai on Friday said that they were not at fault. Clarifying that the cancellation of the quota was caused by technical problems with the Haj portal, Nusuk, the tour companies who have organised themselves as the Indian HGO Associations Forum, said that the glitch has caused cancellations of quotas in other countries like Indonesia.
Shaukat Tamboli, chairperson of the forum said they want pilgrims to know that there were technical reasons for the cancellation. "Nobody has done any fraud. We were allotted the quota in December and we completed all formalities according to the deadline. The deadlines for the payment did not reach the HGOs because of a communication gap. The ministry notice on February 7 did not mention February 14 as the deadline for payment," said Tamboly.
Tour operators said they were expecting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to talk to the Saudi Arabian government for the restoration of the quota during his recent visit. However, the visit was cut short by the terror attack in Pahalgam. People whose travels have been cancelled have paid between Rs four to five lakh and they have asked for a refund. However, the tour operators said they have been advised to let the funds - a total of around Rs 1500 crores - remain the special wallets created under the Nusuk portal for the purposes. This was to avoid the loss during conversion of the foreign currency back to Indian rupees.
The tour operators said that preparations for Haj 2026 are expected to start in July. "The circular issued on April 22 by the Ministry of Minority Affairs said those who made payments but could not go because of the cancellation of the quota will be given priority in the next Haj," said Tamboly.
