C.Rangarajan Committee report on poverty line not 'sacred', says TMC leader Saugata Roy

Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader Saugata Roy on Monday described the C. Rangarajan Committee report on poverty line as just another report and not to be viewed as 'sacred'.

"I have seen the Rangarajan Committee report. Economists have always varied in their opinion on what should be the poverty line, there are many studies done in this matter. The Dandekar-Rath Committee report was earlier the authentic report, Rangarajan Committee is just another view. It should not be taken as sacred," Roy said.

Media reports indicate that a panel headed by former Economic Advisor to Prime Minister, C Rangarajan has set poverty line at Rupees 32 per day in rural areas and upees 47 in Urban areas. The panel has dismissed the Tendulkar Committee report on estimating poverty, which had suggested persons spending below 33 Rupees per-day mark in Urban areas to be considered poor.

As per the report submitted by Rangarajan to Minister of state, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Rao Inderjit Singh, it said the poverty stood at 38.2 per cent in 2009-10 and slided to 29.5 per cent in 2011-12.

The Rangarajan Committee was set up last year to review the Tendulkar Committee methodology for estimating poverty and clear the ambiguity over the number of poor in the country.

The Planning Commission's estimates based on Tendulkar Committee had drawn flak in September 2011, when in an affidavit to the Supreme Court it was stated that households with per capita consumption of more than Rupees 33 in urban areas and Rupees 27 in rural areas would not be treated as poor.