25 lakh people in Mumbailive on less than Rs592 a month

It is difficult to decide which is worse. Is it the fact that over 4.93 lakh families, that is roughly about 25 lakh people in the city, live in abject poverty or the fact that the municipal corporation took so long to approve this list? This list of people living below the poverty line (BPL) was first submitted in January and approved only last week, even when it was tabled as “urgent business”.

The people who fall in the BPL earn less than Rs591.75 per month and do without basic urban facilities like in-built toilets, television sets and telephones.

The civic general body dithered on approving the list for eight months. A senior official pointed out that the delay will impact the timely publication of the list. This, in turn, will delay the benefits that BPL families are entitled to.

For the list, 10.78 lakh families that claimed to be in the BPL category were screened in a door-to-door survey. The survey was conducted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), in conjunction with authorities from the Directorate of Municipal Administration.

Also, over 16 lakh families, including those residing in slum areas, tribal belts, gaothans, koliwadas and slum rehabilitation buildings, were surveyed for the exercise.

The families were checked for 54 socio-economic parameters including the nature and type of residence, living and education standards, assets and literacy, among others. Based on the findings of an administered questionnaire and observations of the enumerators, the total count of the BPL families was brought down to 4.93 lakh.

With over 79,000 BPL families, the K/E municipal ward, which covers areas between Jogeshwari and Andheri on the eastern side, tops the list. It is followed by the M/E (Mankhurd, Govandi and Shivaji Nagar) with 69,500-odd families and Kurla with over 44,000 families.

A similar exercise had been carried out in 1997-98. Then, 27,331 families were declared BPL. However, the number of families surveyed had reportedly been lower and the monthly income criterion to qualify as BPL was Rs497 per person.

Simpreet Singh, a slum activist, said that the list has been finalised after a lag of five years. The centre had ordered the BPL survey to be completed in 2005, says Singh. “A steep rise in the number of the poorest of the poor exposes the lack of inclusiveness of the development model,” he said.

The approved list will now be forwarded to an apex committee led by the state chief secretary before being published and circulated.