Maharashtra ranks third among BPL states after UP, Bihar

Maharashtra's image as a progressive state has taken a beating with recent figures rating it third after Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in terms of people below poverty line.

The Economic survey released by the state government said the poverty estimates provided by the Planning Commission reveal poverty ratio in the state is 30.7 per cent, which is 3.2 per cent higher than the all-India figure of 27.5 per cent.

"Maharashtra had 3.17 crore people below poverty line (BPL) after Uttar Pradesh (5.90 crore) and Bihar (3.69 crore) in 2004-05," the survey said.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal had the same level of poverty figures during 1993-94, but in 2004-05, poverty ratios of these states are much less than that of Maharashtra, it noted.

In absolute terms, the population below the poverty line in the state has increased by 12.2 lakh during the same period. This increase was mainly observed in urban areas.

"In 1997, 34.6 per cent of population was BPL in rural areas which later became 35.8 per cent in 2002. In 1997, the urban BPL population was 8.8 per cent, which rose to 13.9 per cent in 2002,"