By IANS,
New Delhi : After identifying 29,000 bogus below poverty line (BPL) card holders in the Bundelkhand region, the Uttar Pradesh government is preparing a fresh list of the people entitled for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and Antyodaya scheme benefits.
This followed a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) enquiry into reports of discrepancies in giving out cards.
“The food commissioner of the state has apprised the NHRC that a fresh survey for identification of persons eligible for BPL and Antyodaya cards in Bundelkhand is in progress and the final list is likely to be prepared by May 31, 2008,” a NHRC statement said Friday.
An open court was held for identifying cardholders and 29,000 were found to be bogus, it said.
Under the Antyodaya scheme, the poorest of poor who are at the starving threshold are being provided 35 kg of food grain (25 kg wheat and 10 kg rice) a month at – wheat Rs.2 per kg and rice at Rs.3 per kg.
Following a report by the investigation division of the panel, an open court was convened and the NHRC chief, Justice (retd) S. Rajendra Babu, asked for effective implementation of the NREGS in the state.
“The panel chief has emphasized that the process of identification of eligible persons for issue of below poverty line (BPL) and Antyodaya cards should be transparent and only the deserving persons should be given the benefits of such cards,” the statement said.
The commission had sent a nine-member team of the Investigation Division of the Commission headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Mukesh Singh. The team visited seven districts of Bundelkhand.
About 600,000 people in Bundelkhand were issued BPL & Antyodaya cards.