Gujarat: Number of families below poverty line rose to 2,556 last year
In the past one year, the number of families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in Gujarat have risen by 2,556, taking the total number of BPL families over 31.56 lakh, as on August 31, 2021, the Gujarat Assembly was informed on Monday.
2 min read
The state government in a written reply stated there were a total of 31,56,541 BPL families in Gujarat and 2558 families got added to the BPL category list between September 2020 and August 2021. (Representative image)In the past one year, the number of families living Below the Poverty Line (BPL) in Gujarat have risen by 2,556, taking the total number of BPL families over 31.56 lakh, as on August 31, 2021, the Gujarat Assembly was informed on Monday.
In response to an unstarred question asked by Chandrikaben Bariya, Congress MLA from Garbada, the state government in a written reply stated there were a total of 31,56,541 BPL families in Gujarat and 2558 families got added to the BPL category list between September 2020 and August 2021. During this period, two families were also taken off the BPL list.
The government said that under the rural development department, the rural development commissioner conducts the survey of families living as per the guidelines of the Government of India.
Under this survey, the government undertakes a count of families and not of individuals, the House was informed through the written reply.
There are about 16 social and economic indicators taken as survey parameters for counting BPL families. This includes type of dwelling, average availability of clothing, food security, sanitation, means of livelihood, type of indebtedness, reason for migration, status of household labour force, ownership of consumer durables. Gujarat is witnessing a rise in BPL families during a period when the per capita income of the state has declined.
Despite the state Finance Minister Kanu Desai pointing out in his 2022-23 Budget speech earlier this month that the per capita income of Gujarat has increased from Rs 19,823 to Rs 2,14,809 during the last 20 years, there has been a decline in 2020-21. According to the Gujarat government’s latest Socio-Economic Review 2021-22, the per capita income at constant prices has declined by 2.6 per cent from Rs 1,64,310 in 2019-20 to Rs 1,60,028 in 2020-21.”
You May Like
