Poor in India - an Endangered Species?
THE whole of yesterday, I spent in finding a genuine poor Indian. The Planning Commission, headed by an eminent Economist who also doubles as the Prime Minister of the Country and consisting of all eminent high brow economists, tells us through the Supreme Court of India that anybody who makes about a thousand rupees a month in Urban India, is not poor. My domestic help makes about Rs. 4000 and her husband as a watchman makes about Rs. 7000 and the wise economists of the country tell me that they are pretty rich! I was having a lot of compassion for the couple assuming they were poor. A driver tells me that he makes about Rs. 5000 – quite rich. A cobbler told me that his family income is about Rs. 8,000. Even a beggar I met admitted to earning about Rs. 200 per day.
I met an Inspector of Central Excise who makes about Rs. 35,000 per month – pays Rs. 12000 as house rent, saves Rs. 8000 in GPF, Rs. 4000 rupees on his children's' education; Rs. 10,000 on household expenditure, Rs. 3000 on transport – already he is in deficit. Planning Commission says he is super rich! An about to retire Secretary to the Government is worried where he is going to stay after retirement. His honest career is going to give him a total of Rs.30 Lakhs on retirement. A small flat in Delhi costs two Crores. He calls himself a poor Government Servant. Planning Commission thinks different.
I am really worried that soon we may not have any poor people left in the country and when there is no poverty, maybe there is no need for so much of governance and 75 percent of the Government machinery can be closed down. Maybe, we can bring down the poverty level to one rupee a day and Lo and behold, we can simply abolish poverty in India and declare India as a rich country – all that we need is a report from the Planning Commission. Prosperity anywhere seems to be a threat to poverty everywhere.
But do we really need a Planning Commission?