Centre-backed criteria will bring Goans in BPL list: Churchill HERALD REPORTER MARGAO, JUNE 14
Blaming Mamlatdars and Block Development Officers for blocking his plan to include more and more Goans in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list, Rural Development Minister Churchill Alemao has said the Centre has come out with new criteria which would help bring large number of Goans in the BPL category.
Alemao warned the RDA staff, especially from South Goa district, that he would crack a whip and send them home, if their performance continues to remain below par.
At the meeting with RDA officials and staff held here on Monday, Alemao announced that the Centre has relaxed the BPL norms which will now make it easy for economically backward Goans to get in the BPL list. “The Mamlatdars and BDOs had blocked our plans to bring more Goans in the BPL list on grounds the applicant does not fall in the category. But, the latest criteria will help people to be brought under the category”, he said.
The RDA Minister issued directives to the officials to ensure that more and more Goans are included in the BPL list to avail benefits under the Central schemes. “There are some Sarpanchas, who have refused to approve names for the BPL families. Now, the rules are changed that the household owners can now take approval even from a Zilla panchayat member and other persons mentioned in the criteria”, he said.
The Minister asked the RDA Secretary to immediately write to the Mamlatdars and the BDOs on the refusal to clear the names under the BPL list and also call a meeting with them to solve the imbroglio.
He replied in the negative when suggested that the RDA department could not make major inroads in the villages to bring the poor under the BPL list. “In Navelim village, there were only three people included in the BPL category. Now the figure has shot up to over 600. Things are certainly improving, but more needs to be done. People should realise that a NREG card holder is automatically included in the BPL list”, he added.
Meanwhile, the RDA Secretary has called upon the officials and staff from South Goa to put in more efforts to ensure successful implementation of the BPL schemes. “The DRDA, north has initiated many steps. The staff in south Goa might have been working hard, but there are many inadequacies as per the records”, he said.
The Secretary said that auditors have questioned the poor implementation of BLP schemes in South Goa and called upon the staff to work with dedication and sincerity by bringing more persons in the BPL category.
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