Ahluwalia, Ramesh seek to put an end to poverty controversy

The controversial Planning Commission affidavit in the Supreme Court, indicating a poverty line cut-off of Rs.32 per day, will not be considered while selecting beneficiaries of government welfare schemes.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the commission, and Jairam Ramesh, the rural development minister, clarified on Monday that the report by the Tendulkar committee – specifying the Rs.32 cut-off level – would not be applicable while deciding on below-the-poverty (BPL) beneficiaries.

''The Planning Commission is not taking the view that benefits should be restricted to only those below BPL,'' Ahluwalia told reporters. ''It would be done by a socio-economic caste census that is currently underway.''

The planning commission had in an affidavit before the apex court provisionally placed the poverty line for urban and rural areas at Rs965 per capita per month (Rs32 per day) and Rs.781 per capita per month (Rs26 per day) respectively. A family of five spending less than Rs4,824 a month in urban areas was said to be in the BPL category, and in rural areas the figure was Rs3,905.

According to the commission's affidavit, there were 407.4 million BPL individuals, using the Tendulkar committee yardstick for describing the poor. But the affidavit triggered off a volley of protests. Some of Sonia Gandhi's close associates on the National Advisory Council (NAC) slammed Ahluwalia, accusing him of not being realistic.

The planning commission deputy chairman, who was abroad for several days, met prime minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, a day before he met other panel members and Ramesh. ''Jairam and I had a very good meeting,'' said Ahluwalia. ''I think we have resolved a number of important issues.''