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Centre blamed for ceiling on BPL list

Special Correspondent

Rajasthan to continue giving benefits to card holders of 1997: Minister

JAIPUR: Even as public resentment over deletion of 3 lakh families from the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list has intensified in Rajasthan, the State Government on Tuesday tried to shift the blame to the Centre, saying the latter had put the ceiling of 17.36 lakh families and forced the State to issue the list on the basis of a census conducted in 2002.

Elected representatives, panchayat members and the people at large in the rural areas have protested and held demonstrations on the issue at several places across the State this week. Two major roads were blocked in Hadauti region on Monday, while villagers raised slogans at the Collectorate premises in Banswara and people from 61 panchayat samitis organised a rally at Talera in Bundi district.

The Minister for Panchayati Raj and Rural Development, Kalulal Gujjar, said here that though the new BPL list had reduced the number of beneficiary families, the State Government had decided to continue the benefits of medical facilities and supply of foodgrain through fair price shops to the BPL card holders of 1997 as well.

Mr. Gujjar pointed out that the Central Government had directed the State in August 2004 to restrict the number of BPL families to 17.36 lakhs against the 20.97 lakh families identified in the 1997 census. The State Government by then had already put the task of selecting new BPL families on hold following a directive of the Supreme Court not to remove any BPL family from the 1997 list.

However, the Centre withheld the payment of Rs. 90 crores under Indira Awas Yojana to the State and put the condition of issuing the BPL list for releasing the allocation. Mr. Gujjar said the State Government was compelled to issue the list on the basis of the survey of 2002 undertaken during the 10th Five Year Plan because of this condition.

"The Centre did not agree to increase the number of BPL families in Rajasthan despite a special request made by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to Union Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh," said Mr. Gujjar, adding that the stoppage of funds under the Indira Awas Yojana had created difficulties in providing housing facility to the poor.

The Minister clarified that the new BPL list issued on the basis of the 2002 census was "not final" and the process of addition of deserving families was continuing. "The procedure involves a two-tier appeal system, in which the Tehsildar, the Sub-Divisional Officer and the Collector can be approached for getting new names added."

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