BPL list misses 2 gram panchayats

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 11 NOV. People from two Gram Panchayats (GP)- Sujapur and Jalalpur in Kaliachak-I block do not have BPL (below poverty line) cards to claim facilities from the government.

Since the introduction of government policies for the families belonging to the BPL category, the people of these two GPs have been deprived of all facilities from the government.

In the midst of exaggerated figures and false claims, people in the two GPs, genuinely in need of assistance, suffer.

The Malda district administration could not finally publish the list of BPL families for two-gram panchayats (GP) in Kaliachak-I block.

"The people of two GPs do not get facilities even from the public distribution system," said Mr Prakash Pal, the Malda SDO.

According to the administrative officials, the district has BPL lists for 144 GPs out of 146 ones. The exceptions are Sujapur and Jalalpur in Kaliachak-I.

The district administration has not published the list for the people of two GPs due to objection from the state government.

The state objected to the lists because it claimed facilities for 84 percent families in these GPs which is far higher than the usual percentage of BPL families in GPs in Kalichak-I.

Considering that in other GPs in Kalichak block, on an average, 43 percent of the families figure in BPL lists, 84 percent does not seem real to the state.

As Malda sub-divisional officer, Mr Prakash Pal said: "The problem cropped up in Kaiachak due to two gram panchayats - Sujapur and Jalalpur, where applicants were more than 84 percent".

"Was it possible to accept all applications seeking inclusion in BPL list? Almost all families that had applied claimed themselves as BPL candidates. Political leaders had clearly not taken the job of preparing the list seriously when the surveys were actually conducted," said Mr. Sridhar Ghosh, the Malda DM.

"Rich families here want to include their names in the BPL list to enjoy undue advantage from the government," he said.

"Following the instruction of the state the revised list has been sent to the government," Mr Ghosh added.

"On an average 39 percent families belong to the BPL categories in Malda district," said the additional district magistrate and additional executive officer, Mr. Kajal Banerjee.

Following the instruction of the state officials, the district authorities had conducted a revision exercise to prepare a fresh list of the BPL across the district, including the two controversial GPs, and they sent it to the government for approval.

"We cannot disclose the percentage of BPL families included in the revised list which has been sent to the government for approval," Mr. Banerjee said.