Following the poverty line based on the Tendulkar formula coming under attack across the spectrum, the NITI Aayog has decided not to use poverty line to identify the poor but to track them for extending benefits under various government schemes and programmes.
“We have taken a position that poverty line should not be used for identifying the poor but to track them,” NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya said.
Panagariya is in the city to take part in a regional consultation meeting on ‘Eliminating Poverty: Creating Jobs and Strengthening Social Programmes’ of southern states.
Since eligibility criteria for welfare schemes such as ‘housing for all” are different from those for MGNREGA and others, there is no point using poverty line as criterion for selecting beneficiaries of all government schemes, he said.
“We do not want to get into a discussion on poverty line. The poverty line set by Tendulkar committee may be taken into consideration or by Rangarajan Committee or World Bank. But we want to use it only as a tool to track the poor,” he said.
He claimed that there was a decline in poverty in the country as per the data available with the government between 1993-94 and 2011-12.
According to Panagariya, NITI Aayog is focusing on providing houses to the homeless, sanitation and drinking water.
“NITI Aayog believes that drinking water is a fundamental issue in this country. We will pursue with the Centre taking steps to make available drinking water to all the citizens,” he said.
Giving details of the deliberations of the meeting, he said NITI Aayog was of the impression that midday meal scheme being implemented by Akshaya Patra Foundation in Tamil Nadu should be implemented in other states as well.
He appreciated the work being done by the self-help groups in AP and praised TS’ Stree Nidhi scheme.
He said Telangana raised the issue of Nutrition Security Act and drinking water during the discussion and Aayog was looking into it.
On disinvestment from sick PSUs, he said the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved closure of sick public sector units. On food inflation, he said, “Our biggest concern is bringing down prices of essential commodities.”
The NITI Aayog vice-chairman refused to comment on the issue of special category status to AP. “This is not the right forum to raise the issue,” he remarked.