Jharkhand Govt discriminating the poorest of the poor

-          out of the 34 lakh BPL families, only 23 lakh families are provided some relief, leaving the remaining 11 lakh families  to die of starvation & disease –

Stan Swamy

When you are not serious about doing what should be done, then appoint a Commission !   This is what the Indian govt (both at the centre and the states} is most adept at. Every ministry goes about appointing commission after another. They are given stipulated time within which to submit the report. Most often the commissions do not finish their work in time and ask for extensions which are  also liberally given. And finally when the report is given, it is given a quiet burial. The only beneficiaries are the members  of the commission (often retired judges & bureaucrats) and the assisting staff who get paid handsomely.

However, one must add some of the commissions do a proficient job and their findings & recommendations are worth implementing. Three such commissions were recently set up by the central govt & the supreme court:

The Arjun Sen Gupta Commission  appointed by the central govt to find out the extent of poverty in the country. It  submitted its report to the PM in 2006.  It came out with the startling revelation that 77%  ( 83.6 crore) of Indians lived on less than Rs. 20 per day. If the parameters are applied to Jharkhand, as much as 90% of the state's population would come under Rs. 20 per day. It was such a severe shock treatment to the ruling class and to the complacent economists that it was neatly put into cold storage and no one in govt circles speaks of it any more.

The Tendulkar Commission was appointed by the Planning Commission with the same task of assessing the extent of poverty. It was done with the hope that this commission would come out with some thing more consoling than the previous commission's findings. This commission submitted its report in 2009. The major finding was that 38% of Indians fall in BPL category, whereas the Planning Commission had been asserting that only 28% Indians are BPL. There was thus a 10 % difference between the govt and the commission assessment.

This commission also studied the BPL situation in the different states of the country. Jharkhand has 51% of its population in BPL category. This again was not pleasing to people in the corridors of power because it would mean the Planning Commission  would have to increase it allocation to this additional 10%.

The Wadhwa Commission was appointed by the Supreme Court. It submitted its report to the Scheduled Castes just a few weeks ago. It contains startling information about the functioning of the Public Distribution system (PDS): Entire PDS has collapsed, says SC panel

  Many other issues are -

         80% of domestic electricity consumed by 5% rich.

        50% of PDS  Kerosene, LPG, Foods diverted to retail.

        50% of Potash and 30% of Urea Diverted to Industries. 

        Private hospitals generate 85% of health care business.

        70% of education in private control.

        Rs. 5,00,000 crores Tax Dodges to Corporate.

        75% of bank credit to 1% population.

        80% of imported goods serve 5% population.

        Farmers get 20% to 50% of retail value.

        Traders Hoard & Control entire food chain.

  *     PDS system in Jharkhand is a glaring example of what the system ought not to         be !

The Wadhwa Commission, taking into consideration the gravity of the situation faced by the poor masses in the country, makes a significant recommendation to the SC, namely, all those earning less than Rs. 100 a day should be put in the BPL category.   

 (Source: Cgnet in Internet, 17/3/2010)

Now, the big question is 'where do the poor Jharkhandi masses stand?'

Of the three Commissions, the Arjun Sengupta Commission (with its assessment of 77% of Indians living on less than Rs. 20 a day) and the Wadhwa Commission (with its recommendation that all those earning less than Rs. 100 a day should be put in the BPL category) will prove absolutely devastating if they are applied to Jharkhand.  At least about 90% of Jharkhandis will come under BPL. Neither the central or state govt would be willing to admit such a reality.

A more moderate assessment by the Tendulkar Commission (51% of Jharkhandis are BPL) can be taken as the minimal assessment for Jharkhand govt to act on.

 Total population of Jharkhand :    2,70,00,000 persons (67,50,000 families with 4 members          

                                                                                                                                 per family) 

The problem with Jharkhand govt is that it does not know exactly how many BPL families there are in the state.  Nor has it worked out the criteria for ascertaining as to who would qualify to be considered BPL.

The hard fact is that poverty is deepening in rural Jharkhand. What they are able to realize from their agricultural  production may last for at most five to six months, and after that they become casual labourers or migrate to far away states.

In such a situation of increasing poverty, hunger, disease among the majority of the state population, the state govt has declared a war on this very people in the name of 'Operation Green Hunt' instead of meaningfully attending to their life-and-death issues. Tragic situation indeed.

31/3/10