With an eye on the 2019 lok Sabha elections, the Yogi government decided to go for an economic and caste survey to identify the poor and downtrodden bereft of benefits as they failed to make it to the desired category after not being included in the survey carried out by the Central government. The decision to go for a fresh economic and caste survey was approved by the cabinet at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister in lucknow on Wednesday.
“The number of beneficiaries of government schemes meant for poor and downtrodden is very less. The fact is that a large chunk of these people were left out as the government did not have authentic figures. To get the correct figure the cabinet has decided to go for a census,” government spokesman Sidharthnath Singh said in lucknow on Wednesday. Singh said that people living below poverty line (BPl) who were not getting benefits of the Central government’s scheme of cheap foodgrains for BPl card holders, old age pension and widow pension, would be included in the schemes once the survey is completed. As per government records, the Centre had identified 1.7 crore BPl families in Uttar Pradesh but in reality, the number of such families in the state is way more than the number. The last survey was done by Social Economic Caste Census (SECC) by Central government during General Census of 2011. As per Census findings, the number of beneficiaries for government schemes were identrified and a quota was fixed accordingly. Singh said that the fresh survey would certainly add more families in the list of beneficiaries who would be eligible to get government-sponsored welfare schemes like Ayusham Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojgna, ration cards, Ujjawala and Saubhagya schemes. “We have fixed a period of three months to complete the survey so that people could get the benefit by the end of this year,” he said. As per 2011 census, there are around 1.7 crore BPl families in the state, who are eligible for government welfare schemes but the fresh survey could double this number. During Mayawati’s 2007-12 tenure, a similar economic and caste survey was carried out by the state government in UP and but government’s request to include several lakh poor in the beneficiary list was negated by the then UPA government at the Centre. Yoga’s recent move is reported to be aimed at the 2019 lok Sabha polls, as the BJP wanted to provide maximum benefit to the people through its welfare schemes.