KOCHI: Imagine a farmer owning acres of land reaping the benefits offered by the government under the BPL scheme. He not only earns huge income from agricultural produce but also gets money sent by his children from abroad.There are numerous people enjoying the benefits extended by the government and the burden of the subsidy is shared by the entire country.On the contrary, there are a large number of eligible people struggling for a square meal a day but could not even dream of having their name included in the BPL category. This shows the glaring disparity in the government policy.District Supply Officer Chandrakumar expressed ignorance regarding ineligible people getting into the list. Last year applications were invited for inclusion in the BPL category. The applications were to be submitted at the Block Development Office, he said. Contrary to his claims, hardly any eligible person managed to get into the list through the Block office which was entrusted with the task of screening the applicants.Ramakrishnan Iyer sells peanuts to feed his family of four at Ettumanoor. “I have been shuttling between my house and the Collectorate in Kottayam to get my name included in the BPL category. I am fed up now. I have realised that it is near impossible to get it done,” he said.Sources at the District Supply Office said the BPL category was formed in 1997 as part of the public distribution system launched by the Central Government. The list has not been revised for the past 14 years. The poor, for whom the category was envisaged, have been running from pillar to post all these years.Interestingly, the BPL survey was conducted in an unscientific manner and there are no methods in it to find the real income of the beneficiary. The surveyors screen the beneficiaries on the basis of various questions to ascertain their income status like whether they own a house or a vehicle, among others. The gaping loopholes help affluent people to stick on to the BPL category.In all, 39,526 ration cards have been issued under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana in the district. There are 1,02,730 BPL card holders and 5,99,205 APL card holders in the district. Senior citizens above 65 and having no income are included in the Annapoorna scheme.The Centre had planned to bring 25 per cent of the total card holders under the BPL category in 1997.Stating that it was insufficient, the state government revised it to 42 per cent spending its own resources. Later, the burden of the subsidy forced the government to reduce it to 25 percent. Sources said a survey was conducted recently to weed out ineligible beneficiaries from the list. The government has given its nod for the list and once implemented more people would get the benefits of the BPL scheme, the sources said.
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