Poor man’s luxury!

The PMEAC Chairman C Rangarajan may be greeted with folded hands for his report that individuals spending below Rs 47 a day in cities and Rs 32 in rural areas would be considered poor. The common man’s eatery the Indian Coffee Houses in Kerala charge Rs 45 for a Masala Dosa weighing roughly about 100gram and a tea without sugar. As per the report if one enjoys this luxury in a whole day he is rich. This report is somewhat akin to the the finding of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit  that Rs 600 in a month is enough for a four member family in Delhi to meet their both ends.

In this context I would like to say that this sort of poverty classification is absurd. No one could live in this country with Rs 32 in a day. The actuality of purchasing power of citizen and other technical aspects should be applied to finalize such reports. There are better ways of drawing poverty line nevertheless, the Rangarajan Committee is not able to recognise the exact idea of poverty line.
The committees of the above sort comprise only the rich and the influential. And without poor man’s representation, no committee in India could demarcate  the rich and the poor with a sharp line.


K A Solaman