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'Minority' for 'Muslim' in BPL census? by Subodh Ghildiyal

The Centre is veering round to accepting the N C Saxena committee’s methodology for identifying below poverty line (BPL) families through a census but may go in for a crucial change — replace ‘‘Muslim’’ with ‘‘minority’’ for extra weightage on poverty index.

The Union rural development ministry is considering minorities as a whole, in place of only Muslims, who are to be given an extra point weightage in BPL identification. The ministry conducts a census to identify BPL families, which is now due this year.

Sources said a rethink on whether Muslims as a community should be retained as beneficiary of special points in BPL census started after a few states said it was not prudent. In their comments on the Saxena report, the states, reported to be mostly BJP-ruled ones, felt it would send out a wrong message.

Sources said the ministry is still to decide between ‘‘Muslim’’ and ‘‘minority’’ and a final view is to be taken on Saxena report’s methodology for the BPL census. The debate, however, seems interesting.

While Sachar commission and other surveys, from time to time, have identified a vast section of Muslims as poor, sources said it was suggested that use of the word ‘‘minority’’ would pre-empt any misgivings that one community was being given preference in poverty welfare. It would, while removing the possible grounds for social envy, also not disturb other minority communities who could feel let down.

Among the families to be surveyed, there is certain weightage to be given to social groups. While SCs/STs would get three points, Most Backward Castes (MBC) would be given two points. The Saxena report added that Muslims and OBCs be given one point each.

RD ministry feels the methodology suggested by Saxena panel for BPL census is otherwise strong, especially the method of ‘‘automatic inclusion and exclusion’’. The concept is seen as ‘‘fair and robust’’.

According to the concept, certain families would not be considered for BPL category at all. They include households which own double of a district’s average irrigated landholding or have a three-wheeled or four-wheeled motor vehicle or a mechanized farm equipment or have a member who is a government employee or have a private sector employee drawing above Rs 10,000 per month salary.

In contrast, the primitive tribal groups, households headed by single-women or a minor, families which have disabled persons as main bread-earners or the households of ‘‘mahadalits’’ would be automatically included, without a survey, in the BPL list.