Poverty
alleviation programmes
Sir,
Our
country is often windswept by the
torrents of poverty, meager income and
low purchasing power of the country folk.
Recently death of a villager in Krashka
village of Alwar district of Rajasthan is
being portrayed as a "starvation
death" by the main opposition party
in that State. Earlier death of 35
persons belonging to Saharia tribe in
Baran district of the same state was
highlighted throughout the world as
starvation deaths by the erstwhile
opposition camp. But when UNICEF team
intervened, the surge in the staggering
and defaming propaganda was brought to
rest as it revealed that the deaths were
not due to starvation. When such type of
allegations are made only to gain
political advantage and that too
particularly during the time of
elections, it disparages the image of our
nation said to have gone through Green
Revolution and presently through Rainbow
Revolution.
Untimely
deaths of poor countrymen are not very
uncommon in India. Somewhere people are
dying due to terrorism, other where
indebted farmers are committing suicides
due to their crop failures. Further,
natural calamities add to this list. But
raking up the issues of deaths only as an
anti-election propaganda to combat the
political opponents may hold serious
repercussions for the whole nation. It is
just like "baking bread on one's
pyre". As a whole what is done for
the improvement of deplorable condition
of penury-ridden masses during the
post-occurrence of such type of incidents
is more important from the humanistic
point of view. In fact in our country,
there are chances of getting even small
issues politicized. The sensibilityof the
issue and its overall impact should be
kept in view while making such
allegations. Why such things are done
only to counter-balance the complex
political equations? Really our political
system has been caponized, paralysed and
decayed.
When a
person belonging to BPL category is said
to have died due to starvation, it
overtly raises fingers at the
administrative machinery concerned with
the implementation of anti-poverty
programmes. Rather than putting blames on
one another for these defaming deaths of
citizens, it is time to improve the
ground situation. Since the deceased
person from Alwar belonged to BPL
category, a very simple question comes in
mind. Wasn't he provided the assistance
as meant for BPL category which the
Government has granted?
Actually
the defective system of inclusion of
people in the Below Poverty Line (BPL)
category may be considered for the faulty
BPL lists prepared in most of the states.
These lists form the basis for selection
of beneficiaries for the implementation
of anti-poverty programmes. Ironically,
the prevalent beneficiary category
contains some blue-eyed people who have
managed to get their names included in
BPL category. This is a gospel truth that
there is a problem of proper
verifiability with these lists. Taking
advantage of the scheme, even some
Government employees have also got their
names included in these lists by hook and
crook, through kith and kin's way or by
employing any other undesired
manipulative approach. Moreover, the
softness regarding temperproofness of
these lists can't be overruled. Earlier
when these lists were being prepared, the
people in general were lacking awareness
about what actually it meant. Exploiting
the situation, the authorities who were
assigned the task to prepare the lists
incorporated names of their nears and
dears and several actually deserving were
not allowed to know about what was being
going on? There are some persons who are
leading luxurious lives but are enjoying
BPL benefits.
The need
of the hour is to concentrate properly on
the on-going anti-poverty programmes for
their effective implementation.
Yours etc.
Dr Narinder Paul
W.No. 4, Hiranagar- 184142
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