Bhubaneswar, Dec 14: On one side the Odisha government has been identifying beneficiaries for various centrally sponsored schemes based on the 2011 Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) while on the other side, the data presented by the Union Rural Development minister in Parliament on number of people Below Poverty Line (BPL) in the state has bought in confusion as to which one of aforementioned lists shall be taken into consideration for selecting beneficiaries.
The data provided by Union Rural Development minister, Ram Kripal Yadav in his written reply in Lok Sabha, says there are 1.26 crore people below the poverty line. However, the Odisha government has been using 7 parameters outlined in the SECC-2011 to identify beneficiaries for various welfare schemes. There has been a long ongoing clash between Odisha and the Centre over the BPL list. Though SECC data is available with the Odisha government, the State is yet to receive the BPL list. As per the 1997 list, there were 44.93 lakh families in Odisha below the poverty line. But as per the current calculations of the Center, the number of BPL families in the State has fallen to 28 lakh, thus indicating the fact that with an increase in the number of families in the state, poverty has decreased.
Various schemes like, MGNREGA, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana are currently under implementation by the Union Rural Development ministry.
