21% of Chandigarh population living below poverty line

Poverty line of Punjab has been used for both rural and urban areas of Chandigarh. For urban areas,it has been taken as Rs 1,155 while for the rural areas,it is Rs 1,054. As per the Census 2011 figures,Chandigarh has a population of 10.55 lakh people. Of these,97 per cent reside in urban areas,including sectors and colonies. The remaining are in the rural areas.

As per the data of the Planning Commission,2.34 lakh people or 22.31 per cent population in the urban areas is below poverty line. In the rural areas,1.64 per cent people are below poverty line. This implies that a total of 2.35 lakh people or 21.8 per cent are in the category of poor.

During the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009,as many as 29 per cent of the voting population was in colonies while 57 per cent was in sectors. There are a large number of slums that have cropped up in the city over a period of time. Despite rehabilitation schemes being floated time and again,the city has not been able to get rid of the slums.

President of the city unit of BJP Sanjay Tandon says,“There is a direct connection between corruption,inflation and rising poverty. Corruption sucks away money from the system. Prices of essential items are high and out of reach of the common man. The poverty levels are also a cause of increasing crime rate in Chandigarh. The city remains beautiful only in name with there being complete misgovernance. There is no co-ordination between the bureaucracy and elected representatives,which leads to several problems.”

However,Congress spokesperson Pardeep Chhabra says that in a city where 29 per cent of the voters are in colonies,21 per cent is not a high number. “The Congress has approved the Food Security Ordinance that will benefit 50 per cent of the people in Chandigarh. Schemes for rehabilitation of slum dwellers are being executed. The city would soon be free of slums with better facilities being provided,” he adds.

Among the other Union Territories,apart from Dadra and Nagar Haveli where 39.31 per cent population is below poverty line,the others fare better. The poverty level in Daman & Diu stands at 9.86 per cent and in Lakshwadeep at 2.77 per cent.

Among the neighbouring states,in Punjab 8.26 per cent of the population is below poverty line. The figures are 11.16 per cent in Haryana and 8.06 per cent in Himachal Pradesh.