After the furore on the issue of the poverty line being Rs 32 per day in urban areas and Rs 26 in villages, Planning Commission deputy chairman Ahluwalia and rural development minister Ramesh have jointly clarified that there will be no link between this and the entitlements of the needy living above the poverty line to government benefits. How do you see the issue?
The controversy was not that we were informed for the first time — through an affidavit in the Supreme Court — that Rs 32 per head daily expenditure marked the poverty line. In fact, this line was determined in 1973. Rs 1.50 in the rural areas and Rs 2 in the urban areas — later adjusted for inflation — were to set the poverty line which is only meant to measure levels of destitution and starvation.
A large number of people who deserve government support are above this line. So, the issue really was the language used in the government affidavit. It was highly insensitive. It maintained that with Rs 32 a day you can meet expenditures on food, health, education, etc.
Is it justified to de-link the poverty line from access to government's social welfare schemes?
De-linking of welfare schemes from the 1973 BPL cap means their universal coverage. I don't think Dr Ahluwalia and Mr Ramesh are in any way competent to make the statement suggesting that the schemes are not linked to the BPL cap. If you want the welfare schemes to be made universal (not confined to those below the poverty line), then the finance ministry is the authority to do so with the approval of the Union Cabinet. Read the full report here.
Source: by Mukesh Ranjan/Manish Anand, Deccan Chronicle.
