Jairam ridicules MPs on poverty

HYDERABAD: Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh on Saturday took a dig at MPs who criticised methodology adopted by the Tendulkar Committee for redefining the term ‘poor’, saying members raising the issue were probably only aware of Sachin Tendulkar, not Suresh Tendulkar.“Those MPs may probably have thought it is Sachin. They did not know Suresh Tendulkar,” Ramesh told reporters on the criticism of the methodology adopted by the Tendulkar Committee set up in the year 2005 by the Planning Commission to suggest criteria for determining poverty line and poverty estimation.As per the methodology adopted by the committee for estimation of poverty, besides calorie intake, the spend on health and education is also factored in.Coming to the rescue of Planning Commission’s deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was the target of attack both inside and outside Parliament, Ramesh said the rate of poverty reduction after 2004 was double the rate of poverty reduction in the previous 10 years.As per the commission’s estimates, poverty ratio has been pegged at 29.8 per cent in 2009-10, down from 37.2 per cent in 2004-05.  These are based on the daily per-capita consumption of Rs 28.65 in cities and Rs 22.42 in rural areas in 2009.Updating this formula by linking it to consumer price index for 2011, the Planning Commission arrived at the estimate that people spending more than Rs 32 a day in urban areas and Rs 26 a day in villages will not be eligible for the benefits of schemes meant for BPL families.Taking on the BJP, Left and other MPs on the issue, he asked why they had not questioned the methodology adopted by the Lakadawala Committee which submitted the report during the United Front’s rule which was supported by the Left parties.  The Lakdawala Committee of 1993 made its recommendation mainly considering the expenditure of people on calorificconsumption, which was pegged at 2,400 per person per day in rural and 2,100 per person per day in urban areas.Targeting the Left parties, Ramesh said the methodology adopted by Suresh Tendulkar Committee was not questioned by the Left parties when they supported UPA-1.“Lakdawala and Suresh Tendulkar are two of the most respected economists who are not associated with any political party. Their reports were accepted when they were submitted.Now suddenly there is a whole questioning of the very nature in which we are measuring poverty,” Ramesh said.