MUMBAI, May 12: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will ask the Central government to chalk out separate guidelines to distinguish poverty statistics for urban and rural population.Announcing this, Mayor Hareshwar Patil said a group leaders' meeting will be held soon, followed by a meeting with Central government officials. Civic representatives will suggest a fresh survey be undertaken to determine the population living below the poverty line in Mumbai.The issue surfaced before a special meeting held recently under Section 66 B before the regular proceedings of the general body could commence. Initiating the debate, Congress leader Kisan Jadhav demanded that the poverty line cut-off limit under the Central governments' Suvarna Jayanti Shahari Rojgar Yojna be increased to Rs 600 per month from the present limit of Rs 419.98.A recent civic planning survey had recently pegged the number of families under the poverty line in the city at just 27,000. This figure, said Samajwadi corporatorRamesh Joshi, was an `insult' to the poor. Congress corporator Ravindra Pawar suggested that a committee be formed to look into the irregularities of the survey. ``This survey didn't focus on several aspects like slums on disputed properties. Several people have been deprived of their right to government aid,'' he added.Several corporators demanded that a fresh survey be carried out. They stated that even the Women and Child Welfare department was not aware of the survey, and learnt of it only after it was over. The survey has only benefitted the migrant population and not the true Mumbaiites, and does not include domestic workesr or labourers, they charged.
