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Patna,(BiharTimes): Bihar, which is the poorest state in the country, has covered just 0.1% of the population so far the job of enumerating them is concerned even though more than three-and-a-half months have passed after the first deadline set by the Centre lapsed.
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This is the first census to identify the poor and caste affiliations of the people in the country, which will be an important input in the proposed right-to-food legislation.
Another poor state, Uttar Pradesh, which recently saw new government coming to power, has not begun the job of enumerating them.
The project started in June 2011, with the target of completing the job by the end of 2011. The Centre then extended the deadline to the end of April.
While there is no word from Tamil Nadu, Kerala is said to have just begun the work.
According to reports in states where enumeration began months ago, the survey apparently is stuck. West Bengal has covered 18% of the population, while Odisha 12%.
However, in Maharashtra the coverage has been 42%. In others it is between 50 and 100%.
“With the last such survey carried out in 2002, a fresh list was due in 2007. But with some states not beginning till now and others stuck, I do not think we will have the enumeration results before December 2013. States may be fearing that the survey will show a reduced number of the poor (affecting their demand for grants, etc),” National Advisory Council member, N C Saxena, was quoted in Hindustan Times recently.
Union minister for rural development Jairam Ramesh has been writing to the states, asking them to expedite the process, but to no avail.
A senior official of the Bihar government was quoted in the daily as saying: “Unlike other states Bihar is entirely dependent on central support for foodgrains, etc. So it is very important for us to be cautious as to how to go about the survey. Anyway, we are trying to get the survey running by month end."
The Centre is spending Rs 3,500 crore on this. In the absence of survey, the Planning Commission’s poverty estimates are based on expenditure.
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