Low cut-off for BPL status startles SC

A startled Supreme Court came to know that as per Planning Commission,if a person spends more than Rs 17 a day in a city or Rs 11 in a rural area.

A startled Supreme Court on Tuesday came to know that as per Planning Commission,if a person spends more than Rs 17 a day in a city or Rs 11 in a rural area,he is no more a member of the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category.

A day after the Centre revealed its difference of opinion with the states on parameters to identify BPL families for the purpose of effective food distribution,the Supreme Court was informed that Planning Commission statistics show that only a person whose per capita expenditure is less than Rs 17 a day in an urban area is qualified to be a BPL member.

This is startling. And we thought earning even 2 dollars a day is not good enough, a Bench led by Justice Dalveer Bhandari reacted to the submissions of senior advocate Colin Gonsalves,who quoted the figures from Planning Commission documents.

This means that a person who spends Rs 18 on his bus fare in Delhi does not come under BPL category, Gonsalves explained.

Gonsalves countered Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran,appearing for the Food Ministry,when the latter claimed the BPL population has fallen from 6.4 crore to 5.9 crore as per government estimates.

According to Gonsalves,who appeared for NGO PUCL,the ministrys own website shows that 6.52 crore BPL households exist as of June 2010.