New Delhi, Oct 1 : Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Planning Commission members Mihir Shah and Abhijit Sen and rural development minister Jairam Ramesh will sit on Monday to decide what should constitute the poverty line, reports Times of India.
The Centre could clarify to the Supreme Court that it has not accepted Rs 32 per day as the poverty line,responding to the outrage over the affidavit filed earlier, the report said.
The key planners in the UPA regime will meet on Monday to take a final view to be given in the October 11 hearing.
The report says, the Centre may tell the court it has not taken any decision on the poverty line and instead would wait for the socio-economic caste census to arrive at the figure.
The Centre could disapprove of linking Tendulkar panel report with poverty line, saying the issue was not in its terms of reference.
Instead, it is going to say, it is the census which would decide the basis for entitlements for individuals.
Congress leaders have been agitated over the affidavit which they said was painting them as insensitive and had the potential of becoming an issue in polls.
After the census,the Centre could create two poor categories special and general for entitlements.
While the poor would be the target beneficiaries,the general could be chosen from among those hovering around poverty indicators but technically not falling in the poverty zone.
The Centre could relax the poverty criteria to create a general category and entitle them to subsidized foodgrains in lower quantity and at higher prices than the special poor.
