New Delhi:
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met the Planning Commission today to discuss the poverty line cap fixed by the panel which had led to sharp criticism. Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and PM's Advisor C Rangarajan were to be present along with other members of the panel, sources said.
In September, the Planning Commission had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court, fixing the poverty line at Rs 32 per capita per day in urban areas and Rs. 26 in rural areas. This had sparked criticism, with many urging the panel to give it a relook.
The Planning Commission had later distanced itself from the Rs. 32 poverty line yardstick presented to the Supreme Court, saying that it was based on the report of the Tendulkar Committee.
"This is the poverty line fixed at 1973-74, adjusted upwards. So this is clearly a rock-bottom level of existence," Mr Ahluwalia had said last month. He clarified that the Planning Commission did not think this figure represented "a reasonable level" for the aam admi.
Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had said that the poverty estimates of the Planning Commission would not be used to decide which households were eligible for government schemes like subsidised food grains, intended to help the poor.
These estimates would also not limit the beneficiaries of the Centre's proposed Right To Food programme.
The Right To Food Bill is to be tabled in the current Winter Session of the government and the Centre still does not know how many and who it will benefit.