Date:08/01/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/01/08/stories/2009010855660100.htm

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BPL list: civic chiefs draw flak for slip

Special Correspondent

Paloli Mohammed Kutty says the civic chiefs have done revision of the BPL list without due care.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local Self-Government Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty has chided the civic chiefs for revising the below poverty line (BPL) list without due caution and involvement.

Addressing a regional meeting of the presidents of grama panchayats in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta convened by the Local Self-Government Department here on Wednesday, Mr. Mohammed Kutty said that lapses in revising the BPL list had upset the distribution of ration cards and other benefits due to the families in this category.

Following the revision, the number of BPL families had gone up from 22 lakh to 48 lakh and it would take at least two years to rectify the anomalies. The revision was entrusted with the local self-government institutions since they were well informed of the status of all families in the wards and the discrepancies could be corrected without much effort. But the elected members chose to include even the ineligible families and that had given way to confusion, he said.

If the civic chiefs failed to effectively exercise the powers delegated to them and implement the Plan projects in a transparent and time-bound manner, it would lead to concentration of powers and massive cut in the funds allocated to the civic bodies. Those opposed to the decentralisation of powers to the local self-government institutions were finding fault with the institutions to defeat the process. Civic bodies should be wary of such attempts to sabotage decentralisation and make optimum use of the powers and funds left at their disposal, he said.

While many panchayats had utilised 64 per cent of the Plan funds till November, the absorption was six per cent in the case of some others. Certain panchayats had not yet taken up refuse management and the E.M.S. housing scheme for the houseless poor seriously.

The target was to provide houses for the houseless in the State by 2011. Panchayats should identify the beneficiaries in a transparent manner, secure land for the landless within a year and complete the construction of houses within the next two years. He also called for efficient implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) in the State.