Names removed from BPL list, villagers fume

Lalit Mohan

As many as 68 panchayats have been declared BPL-free in Kangra district. 

Hundreds of families that were earlier getting below the poverty line (BPL) benefits under various Central government schemes are set to lose these benefits.

The families that have lost benefits are now protesting. In the recent past, some of the families that lost the benefits protested in Sullah panchayat in the constituency of Health Minister Vipin Parmar. BJP MLA from Jawali Arjun Thakur called the meeting of all panchayats in his constituency to discuss the issue of deletion of the names of families from the BPL list.

Sources said 10 panchayats have been declared BPL-free in Dehra block, three in Bhawarna, one in Baijnath, one in Dharamsala, 11 in Fatehpur, one in Indora, three in Kangra, 10 in Lambagaon, one in Nagrota Bagwan, 13 in Nagrota Surain, one in Panchrukhi, eight in Pragpur, one in Rait and one in Sullah.

Since these panchayats are now declared BPL-free, they are not going to get certain funds that were especially earmarked for BPL schemes. Many Government of India schemes such as Prime Minister Awas Yojana, Rs 12,000 grant for constructing toilets, free treatment under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and free ration under the Public Distribution System (PDS) were especially meant for the BPL families.

Sources said the Government of India has given a target to include 62,416 families under the BPL list. So far, 59,722 families have been included in the BPL list in Kangra district.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati said the authority of inclusion and deletion of names from BPL lists was with the gram sabha. “As far as the administration is concerned, it has to ensure that the criteria laid for inclusion in BPL lists should be met. The names of many people who are undeservingly taking benefit of BPL schemes have been removed and those deserving are being included,” he said.

Gram sabha authorised to finalise BPL list 

• The family that has annual income of less that Rs 36,000 per annum is classified as a BPL family. As per the procedure, the gram sabha is authorised to finalise the BPL list in their respective area. The panchayat in general gram sabha decides the families that can be included in BPL families.
• There were complaints that many people, who owned pucca houses and had regular source of income, were declared as BPL in many villages. Now, the authorities are checking and removing people who have been wrongly included in BPL lists. However, this is creating resentment among the supporters of politicians, especially the leaders of the ruling party.

The authority of inclusion and deletion of names from BPL lists is with the gram sabha. As far as the administration is concerned, it has to ensure that the criteria laid for inclusion in BPL lists is met. The names of many people who are undeservingly taking benefit of BPL schemes have been removed and those deserving are being included. Rakesh Prajapati, Kangra Deputy Commissioner