Planning Commission distances from poverty line definition

Under attack over the Rs 32 per capita per day cut off for poverty line, Planning Commission today distanced itself from the controversial definition presented to the Supreme Court saying it did not represent its views.

Addressing the media, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also said that these figures were not used for extending benefits to the deprived sections of the population.

"People allege that Planning Commission is trying to understate poverty which is simply not true," he said while addressing a joint press conference with Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh.

Planning Commission has come under flak following the affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court, which said that persons consuming items worth more than Rs 32 per day in urban areas (Rs 26 in rural areas) are not poor.

As per the affidavit, a family of five spending less than Rs 4,824 (at June, 2011, prices) in urban areas will fall in the BPL (Below Poverty Line) category. The expenditure limit for a family in rural areas has been fixed at Rs 3,905.

Ahluwalia had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday to clarify Planning Commission's view on the controversy.