Calcutta, Oct. 23: The government has worked out a Plan B to continue with the dole for imams and muezzins by granting Rs 500 crore to the Board of Wakfs, after Calcutta High Court struck down the practice of giving monthly allowances to them from state coffers.

A source in the minority affairs department told The Telegraph that the first tranche had already been transferred to the wakf board and payments had been made from the sum.

“The money has been granted under the Wakf Board Protection, Supervision and Development scheme…. Officially, we maintain that the board can spend money from the new scheme on projects of its choice. But in reality, the maximum part of the sum will go towards paying the allowance to the imams and muezzins,” a senior official said.

Unlike in the past when the government was paying the dole through district magistrates, this time the wakf board will directly pay the money to the imams and muezzins.

After the release of funds, sums of Rs 10,000 and Rs 4,000 are being paid to the imams and muezzins, respectively, which amount to doles for four months.

“To pay Rs 2,500 to imams and Rs 1,000 to muezzins every month, the annual outgo is Rs 136 crore. By granting Rs 500 crore, the government has taken care of them for the rest of its term and more,” the official added.

Under the new scheme, the board will engage imams and muezzins in religious and social activities in their respective areas against which they will be paid “an honorarium”.

“They will get an honorarium for rendering their service. The imams and muezzins will help the board in protection, supervision and development of wakf properties…. They will also help in creating awareness about various other social and health-related issues. We will seek periodical reports from them and assess their performance,” said Abdul Gani, the chairman of the Board of Wakfs.

Gani said there was a provision in the wakf act for the board to pay honorarium to the imams and muezzins if they helped the board in any way.

Sources said the scheme was put together earlier this month after a division bench of the high court struck down as “unconstitutional” the state government’s decision to provide a monthly allowance to the imams and muezzins. The allowance started in April 2012.

Mamata, who conceived the original plan to offer the dole, had told the imams and muezzins at a government programme last month not to lose hope, which was a clear signal that the government was working on a plan to bypass the court ruling.

Imams and muezzins thanked the chief minister for keeping her promise. Trinamul sources said the preliminary reaction of the community proved that the chief minister had taken the right decision by working out the Plan B after losing the first round in court.

“The fact that the chief minister is trying her best for the minority community will be of great help in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls,” a senior Trinamul leader said.

The support of the minority community played a big role in Trinamul’s stellar performance in the 2011 Assembly polls as the party won more than 90 of the 120-odd minority-dominated Assembly seats in the state.

But those opposed to the scheme are planning another legal challenge.

“This is nothing but contempt of the court order and we will move court immediately after the vacation.… The court had ruled that such doles are unconstitutional. So it is immaterial whether the government is paying or the wakf board is paying,” said Rahul Sinha, the state BJP president.

Sinha had challenged the government’s decision to pay doles to religious heads of the minority community when the government started the scheme last year.

Some finance department officials said that instead of transferring a grant, the government could have thought of helping the wakf board earn higher rent from its properties.

“If the board wants to pay from its own earnings, no one can challenge its decision,” an official said.

As the process of augmenting the earnings will take time, the plan was not considered and the new scheme was conceived with care so that it can withstand legal challenge.