We can’t have two Indias: SC
Asks Govt Why Poor Go Hungry Despite Filled Granaries
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pointed at the yawning gap between India’s economic prowess and poverty-eradication measures saying: “We can’t have two Indias. You want the world to believe that we are the strongest emerging economy, but millions of poor and hungry people are a stark contrast.”
A bench asked the government why additional subsidized food grains shouldn’t be released to 150 poor districts ahead of the summer months when starvation and malnutrition visit like an annual ritual? The bench said, “The government has to do something. It is a tragedy of sorts. We have our food granaries full and, in many places, overflowing. And there is prediction for a bumper crop this year. If it’s so, why not allocate substantial food grains to take care of hunger and malnutrition.”
Petitioner organization People’s Union for Civil Liberties through counsel Colin Gonsalves suggested release of 10 million tonnes of grains to the 150 poor districts as malnutrition was caused in summer mainly due to the non-availability of food. Additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, who appeared for the Centre, gave an undertaking to file a comprehensive affidavit by May 10 about the government’s proposed corrective steps to tackle hunger and starvation deaths in pockets of Maharashtra, Orissa and Bihar.
But the court said, “The ASG will also take instruction about allocating additional food grains to eradicate or at least reduce the incidence of hunger and malnutrition.”
The court also criticized the Planning Commission for the criteria it employed to arrive at an estimate that number of people under BPL category was 36% of the population. The commission had calculated BPL population by employing the expenditure criteria: a person is poor if he spends less than Rs 17 per day in urban areas and Rs 12 per day in rural areas. Petitioner’s representative Biraj Patnaik said the criteria should be doubled to get the real picture of spread of poverty in India.
The bench said the fixing of purchasing power by the commission appeared arbitrary. “All states, including the Congressruled ones, adopting the same parameters have said the BPL population was much more,” it said.
UPA uplifted 7cr BPL people in 5 yrs: Plan panel
The Planning Commission on Wednesday claimed the UPA’s inclusive agenda had uplifted around 7 crore from Below Poverty Line (BPL) category during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2007-12). The initial findings suggest that absolute poverty in the country may have come down by five percentage points during the 11th Plan.
Satisfied with the figures, deputy chairman of Plan panel Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the government’s policy for inclusive growth is paying off. He emphasized that actual reduction in poverty levels may be higher as the sample on which this poverty level was based was taken in 2009 — the period when the economy was under tremendous pressure due to global slowdown and drought in many parts of the country. “These are preliminary data. Abhijit Sen has worked on them. He has reported that the 2009-10 data show a decline in poverty from 37% in 2004 to 32% in 2009. I agree with him,’’ Ahluwalia said. He admitted that though there is greater possibility in reduction of poverty, the prevailing circumstances have jacked up the figure. TNN
Asks Govt Why Poor Go Hungry Despite Filled Granaries
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday pointed at the yawning gap between India’s economic prowess and poverty-eradication measures saying: “We can’t have two Indias. You want the world to believe that we are the strongest emerging economy, but millions of poor and hungry people are a stark contrast.”
A bench asked the government why additional subsidized food grains shouldn’t be released to 150 poor districts ahead of the summer months when starvation and malnutrition visit like an annual ritual? The bench said, “The government has to do something. It is a tragedy of sorts. We have our food granaries full and, in many places, overflowing. And there is prediction for a bumper crop this year. If it’s so, why not allocate substantial food grains to take care of hunger and malnutrition.”
Petitioner organization People’s Union for Civil Liberties through counsel Colin Gonsalves suggested release of 10 million tonnes of grains to the 150 poor districts as malnutrition was caused in summer mainly due to the non-availability of food. Additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran, who appeared for the Centre, gave an undertaking to file a comprehensive affidavit by May 10 about the government’s proposed corrective steps to tackle hunger and starvation deaths in pockets of Maharashtra, Orissa and Bihar.
But the court said, “The ASG will also take instruction about allocating additional food grains to eradicate or at least reduce the incidence of hunger and malnutrition.”
The court also criticized the Planning Commission for the criteria it employed to arrive at an estimate that number of people under BPL category was 36% of the population. The commission had calculated BPL population by employing the expenditure criteria: a person is poor if he spends less than Rs 17 per day in urban areas and Rs 12 per day in rural areas. Petitioner’s representative Biraj Patnaik said the criteria should be doubled to get the real picture of spread of poverty in India.
The bench said the fixing of purchasing power by the commission appeared arbitrary. “All states, including the Congressruled ones, adopting the same parameters have said the BPL population was much more,” it said.
UPA uplifted 7cr BPL people in 5 yrs: Plan panel
The Planning Commission on Wednesday claimed the UPA’s inclusive agenda had uplifted around 7 crore from Below Poverty Line (BPL) category during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2007-12). The initial findings suggest that absolute poverty in the country may have come down by five percentage points during the 11th Plan.
Satisfied with the figures, deputy chairman of Plan panel Montek Singh Ahluwalia said the government’s policy for inclusive growth is paying off. He emphasized that actual reduction in poverty levels may be higher as the sample on which this poverty level was based was taken in 2009 — the period when the economy was under tremendous pressure due to global slowdown and drought in many parts of the country. “These are preliminary data. Abhijit Sen has worked on them. He has reported that the 2009-10 data show a decline in poverty from 37% in 2004 to 32% in 2009. I agree with him,’’ Ahluwalia said. He admitted that though there is greater possibility in reduction of poverty, the prevailing circumstances have jacked up the figure. TNN
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