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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Munda raps Plan panel poverty index

Munda raps Plan panel poverty index

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published Published on Sep 27, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 27, 2011

-The Telegraph

 

Chief minister Arjun Munda today slammed the poverty benchmark fixed by the Planning Commission.

“The poverty yardstick is faulty and will put a poor state like Jharkhand at a great disadvantage,” the chief minister told The Telegraph. “How can a person survive on Rs 32 daily in urban areas and Rs 26 in rural areas? Munda asked and sought a central review for the sake of the poor.

The fear in the state is that if the benchmark is adopted as policy, the number of families identified as BPL would go down in Jharkhand, resulting in a decrease in share of central sops. In 2009, the NC Saxena Committee set up by the Union rural development ministry had found that 82 per cent of Jharkhand’s rural population lived below the poverty line (BPL).

Though there may be over 34 lakh BPL families in the state, only 23 lakh households have been officially given BPL status, entitling them to government sops like free foodgrain, social security schemes, Indira Awas Yojana, health insurance and free medical facilities, among others. The Centre also makes subsidised foodgrains available to the state as per the official cap of 23 lakh okayed by the Planning Commission.

Last week, the Planning Commission upheld the Suresh Tendulkar Committee’s findings that an individual spending less than Rs 32 in urban areas and Rs 26 a day in rural areas was poor. It created a nationwide debate, prompting the ruling Congress to indicate that the commission could revisit its stand.

Ranchi University professor Ramesh Sharan said the poverty benchmark does not make much of a difference for a rich state, but it certainly means a lot for a poor state like Jharkhand.

“Since the monthly per capita expenditure is low in Jharkhand, the benchmark will put the state with 3.29 crore population at a disadvantage,” he said.

Regional director of Institute of Human Development and a faculty member of economics department of St Xavier’s College, Harishwar Dayal, said the fresh cap on poverty will reduce central funds for the state given under various poverty alleviation programmes and social security schemes meant for BPL families.

The National Sample Survey (2004-05), based on expenditure, had identified 44 per cent households below poverty line. The state thereafter identified the persons below poverty line on the basis of NSS survey. “If the cap goes down, the state will face difficulty in identifying the poor and linking them to PDS and other schemes,” Dayal said, adding it also gives scope to officials to manipulate the list.

Besides the expenditure, the criteria set by the Tendulkar committee for households to directly qualify into BPL list include— households without shelter, destitute living on alms, manual scavengers, primitive tribe groups and legally released bonded labourers.

The Telegraph, 27 September, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110927/jsp/frontpage/story_14558026.jsp


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