New Delhi: Planning commission of India had said that poverty in India had declined in the last eight years. In calculating poverty figures, the Planning Commission is still using the controversial poverty benchmarks method to determine the poor. It says that people whose consumption of goods exceeds 33 rupees in cities, and 27.20 rupees per day in villages are not considered poor. In this report, poverty has been calculated at Rs. 28 a day for rural India.
It seems as a new agenda of ruling government of India and it smells as a new propaganda. Planning commission of India had made a controversial mark of poverty which claimed that if a person spending 33 rupees on meal for a day in city then he would above poverty line and in rural areas, Rs 28 marked as above poverty line. It has given a new definition to poverty. This criteria for fixing the poverty line was criticised across the political spectrum as being unrealistic and unmindful of present day realities.
The report said the number of people living below the poverty line has shrunk to 21.9 per cent in 2011-12 from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05 on account of increase in per capita consumption. Also, rural poverty has declined faster than urban poverty.
Anurag Singh Thakur from BJP had tweeted after the release of the report, “PM’s facts on poverty reduction wishful. If there are really less poor in India, why do they still need MNREGA & Food Security Bill?”
The BJP’s opposition to the latest figures could stem from results showing Congress states like Rajasthan beating Narendra Modi’s Gujarat in poverty alleviation. The plan panel has listed Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh as better performing states on alleviation of poverty.
It said the poverty ratio was highest in Chhattisgarh, followed by Jharkhand, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar, which while showing a big decline in poverty, still remain among the poorest states.
Among the union territories, the Dadra and Nagar Haveli was the highest, with 39.31 per cent people living below poverty line followed by Chandigarh at 21.81 per cent.
Goa has the least percentage of people living below the poverty line at 5.09 per cent followed by Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh.
Whether poverty has been declined in reports of Planning Commission but in real scenario, farmers are committing suicide in several state of country, several persons are dying due to hunger. Poverty is reducing in government data but not in real life.
Bureau Report
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