Over 1.47 crore households comprising about 4.67 crore family members have BPL (Below Poverty Line) cards in Karnataka. In other words, 80 per cent of the state’s population falls below the poverty line. While the NITI Ayog, which puts this figure at 5.67 per cent, says the state’s poverty level is decreasing year on year, the number of BPL card holders is only increasing. So what explains this huge anomaly?
According to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who recently chaired a review meeting of the state’s administrative machinery, a majority of the beneficiaries have obtained BPL cards by suppressing their actual income. In addition, nearly three lakh applications for BPL cards are pending. The card, which aims at empowering the underprivileged and creating a more inclusive society, enables beneficiaries to obtain basic needs like food, healthcare, education, housing and employment.
The database also forms the basis for two of the government’s guarantee programmes, Anna Bhagya and Gruha Lakshmi, which have a budget outlay of Rs 8,000 crore and Rs 28,000 crore respectively. Unable to make ends meet, Siddaramaiah had presented a Rs 27,000 crore revenue deficit budget, while later increasing stamp duty and cess on fuel.