In the season of recession, city registers a rise: In its BPL numbers
BMC survey says 12.17 lakh families have per capita income of less than Rs 591.75 per month……..Shweta Desai
The global meltdown may be hitting the rich and well-to-do, but simultaneously the number of those Below Poverty Line (BPL) is rising in the country’s financial capital, according to the statistics compiled by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
Despite being labelled the world’s seventh largest city in terms of billionaire population by Forbes, the city has an unusually high number of people — around 12.17 lakh families — who earn less than Rs 591.75 per month, do not own a house, fridge or television.
While, Mumbai’s average net worth is pegged at $7.6 billion, the labour class remains neglected. In a survey carried out by the BMC, 12,02,355 families claimed to be BPL. After suggestions and objections over the last four months, the figure has increased by another 15,000 families.
“There is an addition of around 15,000 families and roughly 75,000 people. Now the state Government will decide the poorest of the poor among them,” said chief community development officer and project officer in charge of urban poverty eradication, Jyoti Panda. “We have checked the claims of the surveyed families and now we recognise them as BPL on various parameters.”
In the coming months the state government is expected to declare the poorest of the poor. Usually this figure is 10 per cent of the total BPL families (10 per cent of 12 lakh families is 1.2 lakh families). “There will be then two priority lists and programmes will be undertaken in phases to improve their standard of living,” she said.
The survey was carried out using a questionnaire comprising 54 socio-economic parameters, including housing, profession, education, infrastructure availability and family background. “Not everyone identified as BPL is economically weak. There are families which are educationally backward or do not have proper infrastructure like a house, but are well-off in other parameters,” Panda said.
The city’s population is estimated at 1.3 crore and around 60.75 lakh people have been mentioned that their expenditure per person per month is less than Rs 591.75 or that they do not have a telephone, refrigerator or a two-wheeler and that they find it difficult to have access to the basic services like toilet, school and house.
The survey carried out by the state’s Urban Development Department in 225 towns and 18 big cities has revealed that the number of families living below the poverty line in cities has gone down by 9.03 per cent, but the figure has gone up by 12.52 per cent in smaller towns in the last decade. However, the figures for Mumbai are in sharp contrast to this.
* Total families surveyed: 16.07 lakh
BPL families: 12.17 lakh
* Maximum number of BPL families: Andheri – 1.8 lakh, Bhandup -1 lakh
* Least number of BPL families: Girgaon -1862, Kalbadevi – 2980.
URL: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/in-the-season-of-recession-city-registers-a-rise-in-its-bpl-numbers/375995/
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