Politics of poverty or poverty of politics?

 Pratim Ranjan Bose

Poor everyone ?  Majidih

India is poor. But is it as poor as we often perceive?

The question crossed my mind during a cursory visit to a tribal village in the hilly forested regions of North Tripura, last year.
The statistics available with the district authorities suggest, majority of 2300 people in Noagang are living below poverty line. The ratio is nearly double the State average of 40 per cent.

But, take a sneak peek into the Mizo village, and you will spot dish antennas in abundance. Many own two-wheelers and, some have cars. Mobile phones are a common occurrence. Large number of village boys are studying or working across the country.

And, many work abroad, mostly in West Asia. Their family members throng the Panchyat office, every Saturday, to avail the video-conferencing facility – that was commissioned under a centrally sponsored rural connectivity project – to keep in touch with the near and dear ones, ‘free-of-cost’.

Politics of poverty

Surely, Noagang is not as poor, as is told. And, it may not be an isolated case.

Murguma Dam 

With increasing spend on rural poor (close to one-tenth of India’s $ 2 trillion economy); Poverty may have become a far more popular instrument for many, to extract extra benefits from the State.

And, that’s an open secrete in rural India, where Panchyat’s are now brimming with activity to cater the increasing demand for income certificates, BPL card and the schemes aimed at 270 million people, reportedly reeling under abject poverty.

I had an opportunity to revisit the issue, a couple of weeks ago, while attending public hearings conducted by Welthungerhilfe (WHH) of Germany at Jhalda-II block of Purulia, in West Bengal, to check the status of Public Distribution System (PDS) aimed at the poor.

Rural Purulia records higher level of poverty (44 per cent) than Tripura. And, the hilly and forested regions of Jhalda are considered one of the poorest.

But, if your eyes don’t betray you, Murguma in Begunkodor Panchyat doesn’t fit into this category.

Long way to go. Majidih.

It should not to be poor either. Located next to a massive reservoir, it is a cluster of Mahato community - the single largest constituent of landed middle and upper middle-class group, wielding substantial political influence, in Purulia.

Definitely, there are poors in Murguma. But, they should be a minority. The neatly lined up houses,
with motor-cycles and television antennas showing up here and there, tells the story of relative affluence.

Inflated BPL list

Yet, all but one in a group of approximately 20 - that gathered to share their experience on the PDS or Ration­ (as is referred locally) - were enjoying weekly supply of hugely subsidised provisions, meant for the poorest.

On offer are rice at `2 a kg, flour or Atta at ` 6.66 a kg and, kerosene at ` 16.10 a litre – approximately 70-90 per cent discount to their respective market price.

And, among this surprisingly overwhelming majority of BPL population, only one family of Fulmani Mahato was landless!  ‘Poverty’ plays an equaliser here.

Difference in scale notwithstanding, the distortion of fact is visible in almost every village. Majidih is evidently poorer than Murguma. But, that does not justify inclusion of almost everyone in the BPL category.

Murguma

On the flipside, such generous issue of BPL cards have added pressure on the State’s ability to serve the poorest, as all the villages report inadequate supply of either fuel or food grains through PDS.

The ration shop at Majidih, for example, gets mere 70 per cent of the scheduled requirement of 60 quintal of rice and 22 quintal Atta. The availability of Kerosene is even less.

The poor suffers

The advantage goes to Rabindar Besra, who has a job as well as landed property to support the family but enjoys the same amount of benefits as Bikna Munda or Parul Majhi, who has neither.

Simply put, pruning the BPL list may help the government in reaching more benefits to the needy.  But, that needs the politics to shift gear from its current practices.

And, till that happens one may draw some inspiration from Hensla - a cluster of 100 odd households of Kuiry community – under Usti Panchyat in Jhalda-I block.

The village has recorded impressive increase in farm productivity in the last decade, by adopting intensive cropping techniques and a shoft in cropping pattern under the guidance of a non-profit organisation, PRADAN.

Hensla

Today, the population of its healthy livestock, irrigated farmlands, neatly lined up residential quarters complete with a tube-well – everything reflects the Hensla’s improving financial health.

Some solace

Yet, last year nearly 90 families here installed sanitary toilets at government support that is meant for the poorest. The only solace is: they have given up their distasteful habit of open defecation.

Surely, even miss-directed policies may end up in achieving larger goals.

***

(Pix by author)