BPL line of Rs 32

The government recently in an affidavit to the Supreme Court of India cited ` 32 per head per day as BPL (below poverty line) indicator. Ie.  If a person spends `33 in a day, he would not be entitled to the BPL benefits.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the chairman of the planning commission, in a press conference, tried to assuage the concern of the nation on this absurd figure. He along with Jairam Ramesh, union minister for rural development, clarified that the figure of `32 will not affect any policy decision. They also said that, while arriving at the figure, it was assumed that the health and education cost will be borne by the state and `32 was for expenses other than the cost of education and health.

This brings me to an actual case study, reported by The Times of India (TOI). It was a case of cycle rickshaw driver, who is from Bihar, and runs his rickshaw in Delhi. This gentleman, lets call him Neeraj Sangal, manages two meals a day and sleeps in the pavement. His meal consists of 8 rotis and a plate of sabzi. His family of wife and three children, stays in his village in Bihar. At the cost of `2/ roti and `15 for a plate of sabzi, one meal costs him `31, so two meal would be `62.

So if we consider the basic needs of Roti, Kapra and Makaan, and not including health and education, Mr Neeraj Sangal’s per day requirement, for only food, is almost double the government’s BPL limit. So Mr Neeraj Sangal is not “sufficiently” poor, to get a BPL ration card.

God save the country………..!!